Fashola: FG Yet to Determine Extent of Damage to Roads Infrastructure by Raging Floods
* Says 154 roads, bridges impacted so far
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), yesterday said that the federal government had yet to determine the full extent of damage roads infrastructure done by the current floods ravaging the country.
Fashola, who spoke on TVC, a local television station in the country, stated that regional controllers had continued to send in their reports on damage done, but noted that there was information that there were 154 roads and bridges impacted by the floods so far.
According to him, the water had not receded enough to know how much damage had been done, stressing that the report was being compiled in collaboration with all relevant agencies.
The minister said that when the 2023 budget defence starts , the ministry hoped to send in its report, stressing that lawmakers were concerned about the massive impact of the natural disaster.
He stated that despite all the work that had been done, there was still a lot to be carried out, noting that for instance the problematic East-west road which was hitherto under the ministry of the Niger Delta had reverted to the ministry and had been listed for consideration next Wednesday.
But he said that prices of materials had changed, Value Added Tax (VAT) had increased, which needed to be reconsidered by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Fashola said that the condition of infrastructure when the Muhammadu Buhari administration came in had improved considerably, noting that though the journey had been challenging, it had also been inspiring.
He stated that the Buhari administration has made life less inclement for the Nigerian people in the last seven years based on collated reports, saying that while the total road network was about 200,000 kilometres, the federal government only owns 18 per cent which are the most used in terms of traffic.
As at today, Fashola said that the nation has about 1,642 contracts ongoing contracts, representing, 1,623 projects, stressing that a long patch of the Lagos-Ibadan road has been completed.
“Travel time on those roads has reduced by an aggregate of 56.2 per cent,” he added.
According to him , Buhari must take credit for the strides in the last seven years, stressing that travelling costs have been reduced by over 56 per cent due to the repair of major roads in the country.
In terms of funding, he stated that at the start of the administration, some colleagues of his suggested public /private partnership which he said was time consuming.
To this end, he said the president set up the infrastructure development fund which will comprise the dividend earnings from the Nigerian LNG, stressing that he had a directive from the president to complete the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the second Niger Bridge as well as the Abuja-Kano road which he said Buhari listed as his priority.
Fashola pointed out that the disruptions to logistics movements due to the harm done by floods to Nigerian roads had affected the prices of goods and services across the federation.
“Generally, across the world, bad weather is a severe condition and problematic for those involved in the operation and management of logistics. Our own experience here is largely rain and flood.
“I can confirm 154 locations where our roads and bridges have been impacted so far. In some places, the water has not receded enough to enable us to know how bad the damage is.
“However, we are with working with the Ministries of Water Resources, Humanitarian Affairs and relevant agencies in order to produce an action plan. We plan to submit a report to the National Assembly when we defend our budget,” he stated.
Fashola expressed hope that adequate resources will be provided to prevent a recurrence of extent damage in the future.
“We hope to find the necessary resources to mitigate the effect of the flood,” he added.
In recent times, the national flood emergency has affected over 3.3 million people across 30 states, including 1,427,370 people displaced, 2,776 injured, and over 612 dead, with many houses submerged.