The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Wednesday disclosed that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had spent a total of N2.7trillion on infrastructure development across the country since its inception.
The minister gave the hint in his presentation titled ‘Nigeria’s National Unity: Toward Participation and Shared Values’ at The Chatham House in London.
Mohammed said that the administration invested the N2.7 trillion on roads, rails, power and other similar projects, adding that the spread of such projects cut across all the component regions of the country to foster a sense of national unity.
“Since coming into office, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on an unprecedented renewal of the nation’s infrastructure, investing an unprecedented 2.7 trillion Naira on roads, rails, power and other similar projects.
“But it is not enough to embark on these projects, it is important to let the public know the extent and spread of such projects to foster a sense of national unity. This explains why we kick started a nationwide tour of Federal Government projects nationwide, with not less than 25 journalists accompanying me on each trip. Buhari meets aggrieved APC members of HoR.
“Till date, we have inspected many of such projects, including the new Lagos to Kano standard gauge rail line, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the Southwest that connects the port city of Lagos to other parts of the country, the new intra-city rail line connecting the Abuja city centre to the international Airport, the Enugu-Port Harcourt freeway in the South-east and the Ilorin-/Jebba-Mokwa road in central Nigeria”, the minister added.
Expatiating further, he told the audience that the administration launched also the FGNiApp, a downloadable app on mobile devices, to provide up-to-date information about government’s projects and policies to the people, irrespective of where they are.
Commenting on the abducted Chibok and Dapchi school girls saga, the minister said the government had secured the release of some of the abducted girls, while efforts were still ongoing to secure the release of remaining girls in captivity.
He clarified: “As you are all aware, some 276 girls were abducted by terrorists from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014, about a year before the Buhari Administration assumed office. At his inauguration, President Buhari promised to do whatever is necessary to secure the release of the girls. Today, many of the girls have been freed unharmed, even though over 100 of the girls remained in captivity.
“The civil society group Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), which has consistently advocated the release of all the girls, demanded information from the Federal Government on what is being done to free them. In response to their yearnings, we arranged with the military to embed them, so to say, in some of their search sorties.
‘‘Some Bring Back Our Girls campaigners were subsequently flown on search sorties by the air force to give them a firsthand knowledge of the military’s efforts to rescue the girls. BBOG was later to say, in their report on the trip: ‘’We can confirm that the air component of the counterinsurgency war is being prosecuted by a highly-professional, capable, motivated and committed team of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF)”, Mohammed added.
He restated the Federal Government’s commitment to securing the release of the others girls and aid workers still being held by the insurgents even as he elaborated on several steps being taken by the administration to end the herdsmen/farmers clashes, Niger Delta crisis and other challenges in the country.
