Why Buhari is funding old projects, by Lai Mohammed, says ‘President records greater achievements in South-East than PDP’

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says  President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is consciously concentrating on completion of abandoned projects than introducing new ones.
The minister, who said this in Eleme, while inspecting the Enugu-Port Harcourt road rehabilitation and reconstruction project, said the government was doing so because of its belief in continuity in governance.
The minister, who inspected the project with a team of journalists, said the Buhari government believed that projects execution must serve peoples need rather than to score cheap political gains.
“We did that consciously because Nigeria is one country and governance is a continuum
“How will it benefit the people if we abandon this road and go to award other contracts?
“Most of our projects are those we inherited and we are executing them.
Many of them have started more than 10 years and abandoned before we took over,’’ he said
The minister said it should serve as a lesson and should be imbibed by every administration.
“No government anywhere in the world can do all works within four or eight years.
“We have learnt that people of Nigeria will remain the same, even when government changes. The landscape will remain the same,’’ he said.
The minister inspected the four sections of the road projects being handled by different contractors and expressed satisfaction with the scope of work done so far.
“We have seen the four sections of the Enugu-Port Harcourt road and see that work is going on at every section of the road.
“The challenges as we are told are environmental and natural, no one has complained of funding. What we heard is that funding has been adequate.
“We are passionate and committed to the project because we believe that this will cut the travel time between Enugu and Port Harcourt.’’ he said.
Also, Mohammed that the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration recorded greater achievements in the South-East than the 16 years administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister said this on Wednesday in Aba, while inspecting the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage way reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The minister, who inspected the project with a team of journalists, said that in three years, “the Buhari government can lay claim to many completed and ongoing infrastructure development in the south east.’’
Specifically, he said that the strategic Enugu-Port Harcourt road in the region was awarded by the PDP administration in 2014 but abandoned due to no cash backing.
Mohammed said that upon assumption of office, the Buhari administration had funded the project to over 50 per cent completion.
“The Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage way is a major route in the South-East and the major towns along the route are, Enugu Okigwe, Umuahia, Aba and Port Harcourt.
“The traffic volume generated on the road spanning a total length of 118km is very high.
“The road had suffered various deformations and distress in the form of slippage, rutting, fatigue, edge crack, and portholes.
“The road had become almost impassable until this administration came to the rescue
“Yet, the naysayers have painted the administration as have not done anything for the south east zone,’’ he said.
Mohammed stressed that the 16 years of PDP in power was a waste to the south east region contrary to what the naysayers were saying.
The minister also justified his claim with the progress made by the Buhari’s administration on the second Niger Bridge also awarded by PDP government but not funded.
He said the Bubari administration had sustained funding of the second Niger bridge project to near completion.
“In 16 years, what did the PDP do on the Enugu-Port Harcourt road and the second Niger Bridge?
“Everything that we saw today is what this administration has achieved, yet some politicians are so fraudulent they sit in Abuja and accuse the administration of not doing anything for the south east.
“From what you have seen, you will see that this administration has done so much for this zone. We can now see that some people are just misinforming the public,’’ he said
The minister called on politicians to make statements of facts on the achievements of the administration rather than politicising the progress recorded.
The Federal Controller of Works, Enugu state, Mr Oyekanmi Olufemi said that the Enugu-Port Harcourt road was divided into four sections and each awarded to different contractors.
He said the Enugu to Lokpanta section was awarded to Messrs CGC construction Ltd, while the Lokpanta to Umuahia Tower was awarded to Messrs Setraco Nig. Ltd.
Olufemi said that the Umuahia Tower to Aba section was awarded to Messrs Arab Contractors, while Messrs CCEC Construction firm was handling the Aba to Port Harcourt section
“The contract was awarded in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the sum of N32 billion
“But unfortunately, money that was supposed to be paid to the contractors which is 15 per cent of the contract sum, N4 billion, was a major challenge.
“As at 2015, the amount given to the contractors was only N100 million, with that they could not start.
“The new government came in and the first budget of the new government was in 2016, funding started in earnest.
“As I speak with you today, the advance payment of N4.08 billion has fully been paid by this government and the contractor has done a lot of work since they mobilised to sites,’’ he said.
The minister inspected the four sections of the road and expressed satisfaction with the level of work done so far.