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Nigeria Needs $1.5trillion To Bridge Infrastructure Gap – Buhari

Published

2 years ago

November 2, 2021

President Muhammadu Buhari says 1.5 trillion dollars is the cumulative estimated amount needed by Nigeria over a ten-year period, to achieve an appreciable level of the National Infrastructure Stock.

A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity said Buhari gave the figure on Tuesday in Glasgow at a COP 26 high-level side event on improving global infrastructure hosted by President Joe Biden of the United States, EU Commission President, Von Der Leyen and the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

‘‘Nigeria is ready for your investments in infrastructural development in the country.

‘‘My administration has established a clear legal and regulatory framework for private financing of infrastructure to establish a standard process, especially on the monitoring and evaluation process.

‘‘We look forward to working with you in this regard,’’ he told world leaders at the high level meeting on the margins of the climate change conference.

The statement added that Buhari also declared that his administration had taken infrastructure expansion in Nigeria seriously, conscious of the fact that new investments in critical sectors of the economy would aid lifting 100 million Nigerians from poverty by 2030.

‘‘There is a nexus between infrastructural development and the overall economic development of a nation.

‘‘My administration identified this early enough as a major enabler of sustainable economic development and the realization of other continental and global development aspirations particularly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

‘‘On my assumption of office in 2015, Nigeria faced a huge infrastructure deficit and the total National Infrastructure Stock was estimated at 35% of our Gross Domestic Product.

‘‘In solving these problems, we embarked on a massive infrastructure expansion programme in the areas of Health care, Education, Transportation, Manufacturing, Energy, Housing, Agriculture, and Water Resources.

‘‘We provided more financial resources for these policies, charted new international partnerships and pursued liberalization policies to allow private sector participation.

‘‘We introduced the revised National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan – a policy document that ensures our infrastructure expansion projects is cross-sectorally integrated and environmentally friendly, ’’ he said.

According to the statement, the President welcomed the G7 countries for its ground-breaking plan to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment for low – and middle-income countries.

The statement added that, he noted that the “Build Back Better World” plan, an initiative of the G7 countries, is expected to be a values-driven, high-standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership.

‘‘It is our fervent hope and expectations that this plan will be pursued to its logical conclusion in order to bridge the infrastructural gap between the North and South,’’ he said.

The President was said to have also used the occasion to outline the principles, values and standards Nigeria would like to see from infrastructure initiatives and the challenges the country has faced in partnering with donors on infrastructure development.

‘‘The aim of pursuing quality infrastructure investment is to maximize the positive economic, environmental, social, and development impact of infrastructure and create a virtuous circle of economic activities, while ensuring sound public finances.

‘‘This virtuous circle can take various forms in stimulating the economy,” he said.

The Nigerian leader noted that infrastructure investment should, therefore, take into account economic, environmental and social, and governance aspects, guided by a sense of shared, long-term responsibility for the planet, consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The President added that the positive and negative impacts of infrastructure projects on ecosystems, biodiversity, climate, weather and the use of resources should be internalized by incorporating these environmental considerations over the entire process of infrastructure investment.

‘‘Domestic resource mobilization is critical to addressing the infrastructure financing gap. Assistance for capacity building, including for project preparation, should be provided to developing countries with the participation of international organizations.

‘‘Quality infrastructure investment also needs to be tailored to individual country conditions and consistent with local laws and regulations.

‘‘Furthermore, Infrastructure projects should align with national strategies and nationally determined contributions for those countries determined to implement them, and with transitioning to long-term low emissions strategies, while being mindful of country circumstances,’’ he said.

The statement disclosed that the President also called for the environmental impact of infrastructure investment to be made transparent to all stakeholders, noting that this will enhance the appreciation of sustainable infrastructure projects and increase awareness of related risks.

Headline

VIDEO: Meet Nigerian Pastor Who Predicted World Will End April 25

Published

2 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Editor

An unidentified Nigerian pastor has stirred reactions on social media by following a prophetic revelation that the world would end on the 25th of April 2024.

In a video which has since gone viral, the pastor disclosed that God informed him of the end of the world during a prayer session.

The pastor emphasised that he clearly saw the date and that God mentioned it to him twice.

He said, “By the 25th of April, the world is going to end. If you like take this serious, if you don’t like don’t take it serious.

“But this is real, rapture is coming, on the 25th of April 2024, I saw it very clear, do you understand? I saw the date very clear and the lord ministered to me. He mentioned it twice, it has happened twice.”

Watch video below:

VIDEO: Nigerian Pastor Claims World Will End April 25th
An unidentified Nigerian pastor has stirred reactions on social media by following a prophetic revelation that the world would end on the 25th of April 2024.
In a video which has since gone viral, the pastor disclosed… pic.twitter.com/9xFXAtVCNl
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) April 25, 2024

Source: PUNCH

Headline

Again, FG Talks Tough, Threatens To Revoke Lokoja-Benin Road Contract

Published

2 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Editor

The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has again threatened to revoke the sections I-IV Lokoja-Benin, Obajana Junction Benin roads in Kogi and Edo States should the contractors handling the project fail to sign the reviewed contract.

Umahi issued the fresh threat during a meeting with the contractors in his office, in Abuja, yesterday.

The Miniater had in March issued a similar threat during a visit to the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki. He had expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work earlier this year.

Representatives of the contractors messers Mothercat Ltd, CCECC Ltd, Dantat & Sawoe Ltd, CGC Ltd and RCC Ltd attended the latest meeting with the minister in his Abuja office, on Thursday.

The minister also directed staff of his Ministry to, within 7 days , carry out a comprehensive audit of the ongoing projects with a view to knowing the status of work done, the capacity of personnel and equipment being used by the contractors.

Umahi did not mince words when he expressed displeasure at what he described as the pranks being played by the contractors.

He noted that they were part of the process of re-scoping and reviewing the contract specifications but that they failed to sign the review contract documents after signing that they would do the job based on the new specification.

Umahi said, ”The project was initially N121 billion, but before the administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the project was already reviewed to about over N870 billion .

“When I came in as Minister, I saw that the project was over-bloated, and I refused to take the No Objection to FEC. I had to go through the road myself, and I realized that some sections of the road could not survive asphalt.

“So we started meetings that took us over five months with all the contractors, and in the meetings, we agreed to re-scope the project. So we re-scoped the project where we said okay, the new lanes should be done on concrete and the other ones done on asphalt.

“So, we kept the contracts up and we all signed the documents and based on signing the documents, we took it to BPP and from BPP we went to FEC, and before we went to FEC, we demanded for them to approve that they can do the job. They all gave us letters of approval.”

He wondered why contractors were given jobs without having the required manpower and equipment to execute, and warned that henceforth, any contractor signing a contract must sign alongside the basic rate and timeline.

The minister furthersaid, ”The position of the government is that if you are not signing the contracts between today and tomorrow, you will forgo the jobs. You can go to court. We will not enter into any condition for further negotiation.

“This contract is over N2 billion per kilometer. You don’t have equipment to do the work. Let me even assure you that if you are signing the contract, you will sign it alongside the basic rates.

“You sign it alongside the timetable, and you deploy in three sections, or I will terminate the job. Enough of playing with the psyche of the people.”

He declared that the Ministry would not allow any contractor to hold the nation to ransom or to impose their conditions on the Ministry.

Umahi said, “You don’t want to work, leave the job. It’s not compulsory that you must be the one to do the job. You can not be on site, and the people are dying.

“The vehicles are falling down, and you’re playing politics with the lives of the people. And we fold our hands and leave you for what? You can’t be on site….So if you are not working, pack your things out of that site.”

In his remarks, the Director, Highways (SP) South, Engr. C.A Ogbuagu gave account of the techinical processes undertaken by the Ministry before Federal Executive Council approved the augmentation of the project,
which the contractors accepted, and letters of award were given to them.

He expressed suprise that the contractors refused to sign the new document.

He said, “After the FEC’s approval of the argumentation, the legal department was brought in so that this new contract will now be executed so that work will continue on site. So, for about two weeks now, the draft addendum has been with the contractors, and none of them has positively responded, except RCC.”

In its response, the representative of the CGC said, “for our side, and firstly for our section, and currently we are seriously working. And secondly, we have a sent the draft to the Head Office And there there is any issue, we have answered them and may be later tomorrow morning, we can get the approval from them so we can go ahead.”

Headline

UK Slams Fresh Sanctions On Iran After Israel Attack

Published

4 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Editor

The UK on Thursday joined the United States and Canada in announcing a fresh set of sanctions against Iran’s drone and missile industries after its recent attack on Israel.

Tehran launched its first direct military assault on Israeli territory in retaliation for an April 1 air strike — widely blamed on Israel — that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Damascus.

Iran’s large-scale attack involved more than 300 drones and missiles, most of which were shot down by Israel and its allies including Washington and London, causing little damage.

The United States and Britain announced widespread sanctions on Iran last week, targeting individuals and companies involved in the Iranian drone industry.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said the latest sanctions would target two individuals and four companies closely involved in Iran’s network of drone production.

Trade sanctions against Iran would also be expanded by introducing new bans on the export of components used in its produce of drones and missiles, it added.

“The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region,” Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.

“Alongside our partners, we will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons.”

The UK already has over 400 sanctions imposed on Iran, including designations against the  Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety and many of those responsible for the attack on Israel.

– ‘Facilitating and financing’ –

The US Treasury Department also targeted Iran’s military drone program on Thursday, sanctioning more than a dozen individuals, companies and ships it said played a key role in “facilitating and financing” clandestine sales of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the country’s defence ministry.

“Iran’s Ministry of Defence continues to destabilise the region and world with its support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies,” US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

“The United States, in close coordination with our British and Canadian partners, will continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran’s destabilising activities,” he added.

Thursday’s joint sanctions come a week after Washington targeted 16 people and two companies involved in Iran’s UAV programme, as well as components for the drones used in the attack against Israel.

The UK government separately targeted seven individuals and six companies for enabling Iran to continue its “destabilising regional activity, including its direct attack on Israel.”

Alongside its sanctions against Iran’s UAV program, the US also targeted five companies providing parts for Iran’s steel industry, and an automaker involved in providing “material support” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The European Union imposed its own set of sanctions on Iran on Wednesday during a summit in Brussels.