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  • Third Mainland Bridge is safe for use – Fashola

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has certified the third mainland bridge safe for use.

    The minister in a statement in Abuja on Sunday by the ministry stated that the expansion joint shown in a social media video clip was one of those scheduled for change during repairs to the bridge.

    He also added that the repairs of the bad portion of the Bridge would commence soon.

    The statement reads: “The General Public is hereby informed that the expansion joint shown in a Facebook video clip, is one of those slated for change during repairs to the Third Mainland Bridge which will commence soon.

    “It is still functioning and our engineers and consultants have advised that it does not pose any structural danger to the bridge and it is safe to use.

    “Commuters and Lagos residents will recall that the Third Mainland Bridge was shut down for a 3-day Investigative Maintenance in August 2018. Tests done on the expansion joints then – called static and dynamic load tests – were to check functionality. A number of expansion joints were identified for replacement then.”

    It continues: “More recently, in March this year, underwater confirmatory tests preceding the repair works to be done on the bridge, were carried out on the piles to determine if there is further deterioration or not on the piles from that done in 2013.

    “However, all the tests done preparatory to closure of the Bridge to commence comprehensive Maintenance works indicate that the integrity of the Bridge is intact.

    “Therefore the third mainland bridge is safe for use, and people should desist from spreading or sharing false information about the bridge on social media platforms.”

    On the nature of the repairs, he said: “The expansion joints to be replaced are part of a regular bridge maintenance programme that has been neglected for decades which the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is now addressing frontally on many bridges nationwide.

    “Such maintenance works include resurfacing of the bridge, along with several others, which this administration is also undertaking as the bridge users will attest to a better driving surface.”

  • FG approves execution of multiple power projects – Fashola

    FG approves execution of multiple power projects – Fashola

    The Federal Government has approved the execution of several power projects aimed at achieving more improvement in electricity distribution in the country.

    The Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja by Mr. Hakeem Bello, his Special Adviser on Communications.

    Fashola said principal among the approvals, received from the Federal Executive Council meetings on memos presented by him, was that for Aso Villa to benefit from the Eligible Customer Policy.

    He said the council also approved a distribution expansion programme to take-off part of the stranded 2,000 MW to provide dedicated power to the Villa.

    “The ministry had earlier obtained approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), following its letter to the Bureau, intimating it of the council’s approval of the distribution expansion programme,“ he said.

    Fashola said the intention of the ministry was to procure civil works that would facilitate uninterrupted power supply to the Aso Rock Villa.

    “The project is to be executed by Messrs Dextron Engineering Ltd, has a completion period of six months under the distribution expansion programme.

    “An arrangement has also been put in place such that a GenCo, North-South Power Company Limited will procure the dedicated supply to the Villa from the National Grid.’’

    He said that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) had indicated interest to ensure success of the project.

    The minister said also approved were the Afam 240 MW power plant in Rivers state, construction of a dedicated solar power system for the federal ministry of power, works and housing headquarters in Mabushi.

    Other project approved, according to Fashola is the concession of five hydro dams to facilitate electricity supply to rural and agrarian communities across the country.

    “The approval of final payment for completion of Afam 240 MW power plant is sequel to a memorandum by the ministry seeking council’s approval for award of contract for additional works at the 132KV switchyard.

    “The switchyard was for the evacuation of power from the 240 MW Afam Three fast power projects.’’

    Fashola said the approval for concessioning five hydro dams to facilitate electricity supply to rural and agrarian communities in the country was sequel to the recommendation of the ministry and its water resources counterpart.

    “The ministries had recommended that six hydro power resources be concession to private sector investors to increase the nation’s power supply by 16.49MW, to cater for the power needs of their immediate and essentially rural communities.

    “However, the five small and medium hydro power plants approved to be concessioned, include the 6-MW Ikere Gorge Dam in Ekiti state, to be concessioned to Messrs Power Control and Appliances Limited.

    “2MW Omi-Kampe Dam in Kogi, to be concessioned to Messrs Quaint Power and Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, the 300 KW Zobe Dam and 4 MW Jibiya Dam in Katsina state to be concessioned to Messrs Pan-African Global Infrastructure.

    “The 3-MW Bakolori Dam in Zamfara state to be concessioned also to Messrs Pan-African Global Infrastructure.’’

    Fashola also said concessioning of the dams was to increase renewable and clean electricity supply for the benefit of Nigerians.

    “The ministry has already concluded negotiations with the concessionaires and letters of notification have been issued to them accordingly to facilitate necessary action for early delivery of the project in compliance with regulatory procedures.”

    He said the memorandum seeking FEC’s approval for the construction of dedicated solar power system for the ministry’s headquarters was intended to achieve uninterrupted power supply to the offices.

    This he said would supplement the existing energy supply from the National Grid facilitate clean and renewable energy.

  • Some Nigerian states now enjoy ‘almost 24 hours’ power supply – Fashola

    Some Nigerian states now enjoy ‘almost 24 hours’ power supply – Fashola

    Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, says some cities in Nigeria can now boast of a constant power supply.

    He said this on the Sunrise Daily programme of Channels Television on Wednesday.

    “Sitting down here I can tell you some states that have almost 24 hours – Kebbi, Yobe. Some have five, some have 10 and there are still outages,” he said.

    He said the constant power supply in some states is due to the increase in the transmission capacity.

    The transmission capacity has grown, he said, adding that the figure was about 8,100 watts as at December 2018.

    “The generation capacity is also increasing,” he said.

    “It is a value chain where the distribution is not matching up the available power and from time to time, there are slacks,” Mr Fashola said.

    He said the Ministry of Power has moved forward but needs to implement the short term goals it set.

    “The short term goals are incremental power and stable supply in some places,” he said.

    “The government has decided that as 40 per cent holder of everything in the distribution of power, we have our programme to invest N72 billion which will involve installing transformers and all of that,” he said.

    “We created a metre access provider regulation. What it does is to create a new plan of investment programme. We manufacture, produce, supply and install metres and fill the gap the distribution companies cannot raise capital to fill. They cannot do so alone, they must do so under a procurement policy with the distribution company,” he said.

    The minister said the federal government will solve the problems of poor power supply in the country and will also keep informing citizens on the watts being consumed in the country.

    “We are applying many solutions at the same time. So when we were talking about how much megawatts is being used, we have created a new page which will bring solution,” he said.

    Mr Fashola recently sparked outrage by saying the federal government should not be blamed for poor electricity supply across the country.

    The minister said business people operating in the sector should be blamed for the poor state of electricity supply to Nigerians.

    He argued that since the sector has been privatised, it was not the Nigerian government’s fault if citizens fail to enjoy stable electricity supply

    The minister also denied that he once said a serious government would fix power sector challenges within six months. He challenged anyone to produce any video where he made such a comment.

  • 2019 Budget: FG Needs N10trn Bond for Roads, Power – Fashola

    2019 Budget: FG Needs N10trn Bond for Roads, Power – Fashola

    From Jonas Ike, Abuja
    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, says Nigeria needs at least N10 trillion bond to develop key infrastructures such as roads and power.
    Fashola gave the hint on Monday during a budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Works, chaired by Hon.Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu) at the National Assembly.
    The Minister, who was reacting to questions by members of the Committee over failing roads in Nigeria, noted that funding remains a major constraint behind road construction and maintenance.
    According to him, only a long term infrastructure bond, backed up with viable legislative framework, would take care of failing infrastructure in the country, and thus drive critical aspects of the economy.
    He also advised for caution on the application of the Road Fund Bill, recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, so as not to “raise expectations above realities.”
    “We have to challenge ourselves to access revenue to fund our roads. But since the budget is limited, we must subscribe to realities.
    “I want to say that Nigeria needs N10 trillion infrastructure bond, through legislative approval, to effectively fund our roads and power.
    “Critical infrastructures, such as roads, are national social investments meant to encourage the growth and development of other aspects of the economy,” Fashola told the lawmakers.
    Earlier in a remark, Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon. Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu), had said the Road Fund Bill provided a take-off point for road funding initiative in Nigeria.
    Other lawmakers as Sunday Karimi (PDP, Kogi) and Sani Abdu (APC, Bauchi), both members of the Committee, also raised issues over the Kabba-Obajana, Bauchi-Alkaleri, and Enugu-Port Harcourt roads, saying Nigerians expected miracles from the Minister given his precedents as Lagos governor.
    They further appealed to him to ensure that the second phase of the SUKUK bond initiative is directed towards the completion of pending road projects littered across the country.

  • Nigeria needs N10trn infrastructure bond to curb deficit – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said that N10 trillion infrastructural bond was needed to meet up with infrastructural deficit and advance the course of Nigeria’s development.

    Fashola made this known on Monday in Abuja at a meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Works to defend his ministry’s 2018 budget performance and 2019 budget.

    The minister received legislative commendations from the committee for his achievements so far in the road sector.

    Speaking on his achievements, the minister the said while government was constrained to operate within the current budgetary limits, it had considerably scaled up performance, using the Sukuk Bond over which government had no allocation control.

    Fashola, therefore, called for a N10 trillion infrastructure Bond which he noted could take care of the nation’s infrastructural issues and deficit going forward.

    “If such is created, we can draw from it without resorting to the annual budget, but of course with legislative backing to solve our problems once and for all’’, he said.

    The minister, however, expressed confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s willingness to sign the Road Infrastructure Fund Bill, provided” the provisions don’t conflict with existing laws governing the sector.”

    Lawmakers also took the minister up on his 7-point priorities, noting that the pace of implementation left much to be desired.

    They said many roads and bridges across the country had become death traps – failing even while still under construction with many others still waiting for attention.

    Addressing the issue of road construction and rehabilitation, relative to the availability of fund from annual appropriations, the committee chairman, Rep. Toby Okechukwu, said the minister had done well.

    According to him, the minister has done considerably well in the light of inadequate cash flow from budgetary releases.

    The chairman, however,asked the minister to intimate the committee on how the 2019 budget could capture road maintenance in the country, “so that existing roads don’t fail as obtained in the past.”

    A breakdown of the 2018 appropriation showed that N715.6 billion was allocated to the ministry, out of which N399.4billion was for capital.

    The main Ministry, he said got N56.7billion while Parastatals got N42.639billion, and Overhead for the ministry took N13.23billion, while Personnel cost gulped N17.25billion

    On the Implementation, N144.263billion was released for capital, representing 40.4per cent of the appropriation.

  • Accident not caused by bad roads in Nigeria – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Raji Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Wednesday said contratry to public opinion, frequent accidents on the highway was not as a result of bad roads.

    The minister pointed out that road accidents are largely due to speeding and the recklessness of drivers, as no driver speeds on a bad road.

    Fashola disclosed this in Abuja at a capacity building workshop on the activation of the five United Nations’ Convention on Road Traffic acceded to by Nigeria.

    In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing on Wednesday, the minister noted that the workshop underscored the importance and commitment of the government on the safety of the lives of Nigerians.

    He, however, stated that injuries and avoidable accidents that occurred daily on highways were regrettable.

    Fashola told participants at the workshop that there was no state in Nigeria that the Federal Government was not executing one road project or the other.

    He said the ministry would soon embark on the deployment of manpower for the erection of additional road signs to provide the required guidance, support and direction to road users.

    The minister charged the Federal Road Safety Corps to intensify efforts on public enlightenment campaigns, orientation and education of drivers to be of good behaviour while on highways in order to ensure the safety of lives and property.

    On his part, the Corps Marshal, FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, said his organisation would not have recorded success if not for the support it got from stakeholders in the road and transport sector.

    He expressed gratitude to the United Nation’s envoy for sponsoring the capacity building workshop and promised that the corps would continue to work hard to ensure safety on Nigerian roads.

  • Fashola urges institute to take advantage of FG’s investment in infrastructure

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has called on participants at the Nigerian Institute of Transportation Technology (NITT) to take advantage of the Federal Government’s investment in infrastructure.

    Fashola made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, when participants of the institute led by its Director-General, Dr Abimbola Odumosu, paid him a courtesy visit.
    He described the enrolment of the participants in the institute as timely, in view of the huge investment in infrastructure by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
    The minister said that the investment was already providing employment for Nigerians in the construction sector.
    He further said that opportunities were also being created in the transportation and logistics sector.

     

    He said, “For those of you who are combining transportation with logistics, this is a good time for you because our investment will provide work for you.”

    Fashola also said that the movement of materials for the second Niger Bridge, Mambila Hydro Power and other ongoing projects from factory to the sites, would provide opportunities for participants of the institute.
    According to him, no nation can attain greatness without building its infrastructure.

    He regretted that the maximum budgetary allocation for infrastructure by the past administration was N18 billion.
    “They have had a whole lot of money with a barrel of crude oil sold for 100 dollars, while in the same year, the budget for Lagos state for roads was N74 billion in my time as the governor of the state.

    “Buhari has increased that budget of N18 billion for works to over N300 billion.
    “Combining it with power and housing, we are now a ministry with almost half a trillion naira budget,” the minister said.

    Earlier, Odumosu said the visit was to expose the participants to the practical realities of the transport and logistics industry as well as its challenges and prospects.
    He said that the choice of Abuja for the field study was informed by its strategic location, linking the north to the south and the huge transport activities in the Federal Capital Territory.

  • FG needs N40b to reconstruct nine public buildings – Fashola

    …Says Nigeria’s maintenance culture worrisome

    The Federal Government has disclosed that about N40 billion is required to replace nine public buildings that are currently in bad shape.

    The buildings include; the prison, court, federal secretariat, hospital, a federal government college and four of blocks of building in the ministry of Power, Works and Housing including the powerhouse.

    The government also disclosed that the country was capable of saving billions of Naira annually if members of the public embrace maintenance as they do religion.

    This was disclosed in Abuja on Thursday by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola during the public presentation of the ‘National Public Building Maintenance Policy’.

    The Minister also stated that data from other countries shows that maintenance contributes about 3 percent to South Africa, Canada and United States of America’s GDP.

    Speaking on the importance of the policy, the minister said: “The federal government’s decision on maintenance is an economic decision. It is meant to empower Nigerians at the base of the economic pyramid especially those who are artisans.

    “It is also meant to empower the middle class; those who are in small and medium scale enterprises, manufacturers of cottage industry produced equipment and generally drive the growth of Nigeria’s economy.”

    On the financial implication of poor maintenance, the Minister said: “We used nine public buildings as pilot; the prison, court, federal secretariat, hospital, federal government college and four of our buildings and the power house. The total overview of those nine buildings showed to us that it will cost about N40billion to replace those buildings.

    “We thought that if we pursue maintenance at about N600 million to N900 million per annum, those buildings can achieve their desired life of between 50 to 70 years. If we had N40 billion in any event, instead of using them to replace existing buildings, we should be using them to expand and provide more for our growing population.

    He also said maintenance would create employment opportunities. “If we spend under a billion a year, we found out that we will be employing over 400 people in just those nine buildings.

    “One of the schools will require about 34 people and I did a quick check; there are about 104 unity schools, so if you multiply 34 by 104 for schools alone, you will begin to see the numbers we are seeing.

    “In the ministry of interior alone, if the work begins to get to prison to make sure that there is water, electricity and that roofs don’t leak; just imagine if it spreads across all the police stations in Nigeria because they are public buildings as well. Can we then truly say that there will be no work in this economy?”

    Giving an instance of the workability of the policy, the minister said: “The data available from South Africa, Canada and the United States shows that maintenance as an economy contributes from 1.5 percent to 3 percent GDP contribution and that is massive and that is why I feel I need to let people know that what we have signed unto is enormous and that is why I said this is the work that I have done here that I am most proud of and I hope that I live to see the result.”

    Commenting on recent law prohibiting discrimination against people living with disability, Fashola urged architects to brace up to achieve the five years compliance target set.

    He said: “On the signing of the law to protect people who are living with disability or discrimination, we require five years to achieve compliance. Compliance means that in every public building, a person living with disability can operate, function, climb and descend without assistance. So, apart from lifts, there must be ramps to enable those who are in wheel chairs move freely.

    “So, our architects must brace up in designing buildings at the proper slope. Our parking lots must now have designated number of parking spaces for people living with disability. Our airports will have to be retrofitted and redesigned to provide a dedicated channel for entry and exit points as seen all over the world.

    “What President Buhari has done with that law is profound. A new status and new way of life has been presented to us. He has done his job, we must do ours. So, we have to retrofit all those buildings within the next fives years and as we do that, people will be employed and lives will change in one month.

    On whether there would be sanctions for those who fail to comply with the policy, he said: “We all need to work to achieve the purpose of this policy. In this country, people go to churches and mosque not because they are forced to but because they are convinced that it is the right thing. That same attitude applied in going to places of worship should be applied to the maintenance of our building. Let maintenance be our new religion”.

     

  • Fashola announces approval of 108 meter providers

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has announced the approval of 108 firms for the supply of meters to electricity consumers in the country.

    Fashola made the announcement during the continuation of his neighbourhood consultations/campaign for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 in the Surulere Local Government of Lagos on Sunday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

    At his own ward G3, Fashola reeled out the achievements of Buhari which included improved power supply.

    He said that 108 metering companies had been given licences to supply meters to address the problem of arbitrary billing in the electricity sector.

    He said, “It is the solution of our government by the President to intervene in the metering gaps; people were licensed as Gencos and Discos.

    “Discos have the contract to supply meters and we hear the concerns of citizens now saying that they want meters because their bills are going up. So, this time, we are going to create new businesses for meter suppliers under a Meter Asset Provider scheme. That policy has been approved.

    “The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has made the regulations around which it will work; 108 companies, small businesses that will also create employments because those companies are now going to be the suppliers of meters. They are going to employ people to install the meters, they are going to buy meters, and they are going to make meters.’’

    The minister said the Buhari administration had also provided solar power to 450 shops in Iponri market because the traders organised themselves and a private firm was contracted to handle the project.

    He added that government was ready to extend the solar service to Iponri Estate, if the residents were ready to have a service centre.

    While seeking the support of his constituents in Ward G3, Fashola appealed to the residents not to sell their votes.

    He urged them to vote the All Progressives Congress in the coming general elections.

    The minister explained to them that the encumbrances that made people waste time at the polling units while trying to cast votes in the past had been removed.

     

  • Fashola wants construction experts to conflict resolution for economic growth

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Bababtunde Fashola, has advised construction experts to tailor international laws that suit Nigeria’s needs to reduce conflicts in project execution for economic growth.

    Fashola gave the advice at a regional workshop organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) on Friday.

    The programme was put together in collaboration with the Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) and some law and construction firms.

    It had the theme“Dispute Management in Africa Infrastructure Projects’’.

    Fashola noted that costs and risk management were important factors that must be taken into account when undertaking projects.

    He said that most Federal Government projects adhered to the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) principles.

    The minister noted the need to ensure that the FIDIC researches were adapted to local construction needs and policies.

    Citing various countries as examples, the minister explained that Nigeria had a land tenure system with ancestral lands or shrines where people were prohibited from building on.

    He said the Mambila Power project suffered some setbacks because of several conflicts that led to litigations.

    “If we apply international processes, there must be some room to reflect on international diversity and way we do things without necessarily being sub-optimal.

    “Our land tenure processes, for example, are not exactly the same as that of Europe.

    “So, if you bring contracting rules based on land tenure processes of another jurisdiction, it may be sensible to want to adapt them here if you really want to use infrastructure to create growth and wealth,” he said.

    The minister said that lawyers sometimes made some project agreement ambiguous and so difficult to understand, adding that adaptation of laws to suit local requirements was important.

    He said that the Mambila Power Project would provide huge employment and investment opportunities for the quarries, haulages companies, banks and other stakeholders in the construction value chain.

    According to him, 18 million tonnes of stones and 42,000 tonnes of steel were some of the materials needed for the Mambila Power project which was a huge opportunity for job creation and local businesses.

    “If you own a quarry now, you are sitting on a gold mine, especially if it is near Taraba State. That is the tomorrow I see; that is work; that is prosperity and the driver is infrastructure,” he said.

    He said Mambila project would be guided by FIDIC rules, adding that guidelines for procurement process of the project had begun.

    Fashola reeled out statistics of cement, stones and other inputs needed for the construction of the second Niger Bridge that would boost revenue in the construction value chain.

    He said that 644,000 tons of aggregates, four million cubic meters of sand; 68,000 tonnes of cement and about 21,000 tonnes of reinforcement materials were needed for the construction of the bridge.

    “This is the way to create prosperity; this is the way to get manufacturing back; this is the road to employment and this is the commitment of the government in which I serve,” he said.

    He urged the workshop to fashion out ways to tackle contracting rules to create jobs, economic opportunities and remove conflicts that might end up in courts to increase costs of projects as well as cause delays.

    Mr Charles Akindayomi, the President, Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), said the programme was aimed at nipping in the bud some of the construction related problems.

    Akindayomi said it was better to avoid conflicts from the beginning.

    He said that Nigeria was a member of FIDIC and that there were several well researched publications local engineers could use as reference materials to avoid conflicts.

    “Avoiding risks is much more cheaper than arbitration,’’ he said.

    He said this was the first time lawyers and engineers were coming together to proffer solutions to the several problems in the construction industry in the nation.

    He said that cost, risk management and adjudication issues were all captured by FIDIC to ensure less litigations.

    Mr Tunde Fagbohunlu, Chairman, Board of Directors of LACIAC, said that African countries had problems in the management of infrastructure disputes, hence, the workshop to develop capacity.

    Mr Ayodeji Karim, Managing Director of Costain West Africa Plc, while delivering his lecture said that it was important to authenticate ownership of land to be built upon as well as resolve community issues on any piece of land for project.

    “Finance is important and as a contractor you must know the capability of your clients before going to site,” he said.

    Other speakers highlighted the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolutions as well as adaptation of technology through computer programming to avoid disputes that might slow down construction and make projects more expensive.

    The workshop was the first Regional Training on dispute management in Africa construction industry.