The Federal Government has assured that none of the ongoing road projects, either those inherited from the previous administration or the ones newly awarded, would be abandoned.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, gave the assurance over the weekend in Abuja during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Senator Solomon Ademola (APC Ogun West), where he provided an insight into the N6.2 trillion supplementary appropriation approval for the 2024 budget by the National Assembly as requested by President Bola Tinubu.
Bagudu, while trying to douse the agitation of members of the committee on the fate of other deplorable roads and uncompleted projects in their various constituencies, emphasized that the Federal Government has not abandoned any of the projects.
He categorically stated that the government is not giving priority attention to the innovative projects at the expense of other road projects, assuring that the Federal Executive Council, FEC, would continue to consider and give financial approval to other roads as funds are available.
Although he did not give a detailed statement of the supplementary approval, the minister gave a sectoral overview of both the N3.2 trillion Renewed Hope Infrastructure Projects and the N3 trillion increase in the recurrent component of the budget.
Bagudu noted that the Federal Government had not invested enough in infrastructural development due to several problems encountered recently which resulted in under-investment in several multi-dimension infrastructure.
He, however, commended the President for the political will to confront the infrastructure deficit by seeking the N3.2 trillion to fund the projects which include the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, the Sokoto-Badagry highway and the Trans-Sahara highway.
He assured that the projects, when completed, would increase economic activities and shore up the nation’s revenue base, adding that the projects would encourage massive transformation apart from strengthening economic realities.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, said the government has full capacity to finance the 2024 budget.
He, however, implored the minister to make available to the committee a detailed breakdown of the N6.2 trillion approval as soon as possible.
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