Federal Government of Nigeria has claimed that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar attempted at copying all that the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has done over his so-called Blueprint at an event in Lagos recently.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who made this known at a Press Conference in Abuja on Thursday, said Atiku copied the administration’s blueprint in the areas of job creation, infrastructure financing, relationship with private sector, rejuvenation of the power sector, poverty reduction, debt management and the overall management of the economy.
Alhaji Mohammed said further that it is more shocking that an opposition who has condemned all that this Administration has done would turn around to weave its so-called Economic Blueprint around the same things that are currently being done by the same Administration.
He stated that the aim of this Press Conference is to expose hypocrisy inherent in an opposition which condemns an Administration while also showcasing a blueprint that is nothing but a poor version of what’s on ground.
Shedding more light to the Blueprint, the Minister said, “let me start from infrastructure, the former Vice President said, in his Economic Blueprint, that ‘rebuilding infrastructure and reducing infrastructure deficit will enhance the carrying capacity of the economy and unleash growth and wealth creation’.
“No one understands this better than this Administration. Even our worst critics will agree that our record on infrastructure development is next to none in the history of this country. Across Nigeria, we have constructed 8,352.94 kilometres of roads, rehabilitated 7,936.05 kilometres of roads, constructed 299 bridges, maintained 312 bridges and created 302,039 jobs in the process.
“We have also delivered houses
in 34 states of the Federation under the first phase of the National Housing Project. We were able to achieve these through a combination of budget increase and innovative infrastructure financing methods.
“Whereas we met a budget of N18.132 billion for the roads component of the Federal Ministry of Works when we assumed office in 2015, the budget for the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing increased exponentially to N260.082 billion in 2016; N274.252 billion in 2017, N356.773 billion in 2018, N223.255 billion in 2019, N227.963 billion in 2020 and N241.864 billion in 2021.
“Therefore, for anyone using this
as a campaign stunt, without acknowledging what we have done so far, is cheap and disingenuous”, Alhaji Mohammed said.
The Minister quoted the former Vice President promising to ‘break the jinx’ in infrastructure financing, while Alhaji Mohammed stated unequivocally, that the worst jinx in infrastructure financing was PDP Administration from 1999 to 2015.
Adding that Buhari Administration has long broken that jinx, leveraging on such innovative schemes as the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (which is being used to finance the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 2nd Niger Bridge and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road), Sukuk (which has delivered a total of 1,881 kilometres of roads between 2017 and 2020).
“And the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (for the construction and rehabilitation of Lokoja-Obajana- Kabba-Ilorin road, reconstruction of Apapa Wharf road, construction of Apapa-Oworonsoki- Ojota road and the Bonny-Bodo road with bridge).
“The NNPC-funded part of the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme has also delivered nine roads in North-Central, three in North-East, two in North-West, two in South-East, three in South-South and two in South-West for a total of 1,804 kilometres of roads”.
According to the Minister, “In the area of power, ex-Vice President Atiku said ‘investments in additional generation capacity are futile without consideration for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to wheel the additional energy’. He then promised to propose legislation to, among others, give states the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity.
Alhaji Mohammed noted that the former Vice President apparently has either not heard of the Siemens partnership with the Federal Government under the Presidential Power Initiative, the most ambitious project yet in the efforts to improve the seemingly-intractable power sector on which the PDP frittered over 16 billion dollars to procure nothing but darkness.
“The Nigeria-Siemens partnership was consummated with the signing of the Implementation Agreement on July 22nd 2019. The three-phase project will deliver 7,000MW in the first phase, 11,000MW in the second phase and 25,000MW in the third phase. This will positively impact job creation, boost investor confidence, accelerate economic growth and reduce cost of doing business.
“For those who may be in doubt, let me say that this project is a game changer. As you may have read, electricity equipment ordered under the project have started arriving in the country. When they are installed, there will be a major improvement in the supply of electricity across the country.
“It is also amazing that His Excellency the former VP has not heard or read that the Senate has passed the electricity bill 2022 that would allow states to generate and distribute power as well as
solve the sector’s challenges”.
The Minister further mocked the former Vice President who told his audience that if elected, his Administration would ‘establish a strong partnership (with the private sector) in investing in infrastructure, creating jobs, income and in the fight against poverty’.
Responding, Alhaji Lai said the Buhari Administration’s “warm handshake” with the private sector has delivered and is delivering an unprecedented number of projects, including the 650,000bpd Dangote Refinery, Dangote Fertilizer plant, Lekki Deep Sea Port, BUA Cement, the 5,000bpd Waltersmith Modular Refinery in Imo State; the 2,500bpd Duport Modular Refinery/Energy Park in Edo State;
“The 2,000bpd Atlantic Modular Refinery in Bayelsa State; the 12,000bpd Azikel Modular Refinery also in Bayelsa; the five LPG Bottling plants and six LPG depots in 10 northern states and Abuja, the 48,000 L/D base oil production plant in Rivers and the 10,000 Metric Tonnes Per Day methanol production plant in Bayelsa, just to mention a few.
“These refineries and other projects are the result of a ”warm handshake” between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and private sector actors. The private sector is also involved in the ongoing infrastructure development through the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, which I mentioned earlier.
“On debt, the former Vice President said ‘we will review the country’s debt strategy by focusing on concessional and semi-concessional sources with lower interest rates and relatively long-term maturity.’ Again, that is already being done by this
Administration.
“In order to manage debt service cost and reduce refinancing risk, the thrust of the strategy is that this Administration will maximize concessional borrowing from multilateral and bilateral sources. In addition, new borrowing in the domestic and international capital markets would be for long tenors. Concessional borrowings are, in any case, long-term loans.
“To confirm the commitment to the above strategy and their implementation, over 58% of the External Debt Stock as at March 31, 2022 was from multilateral and bilateral sources while short term domestic debt was less than 22% of
the Total Domestic Debt Stock as at the same date.
“In any case, the Lagos-Ibadan, the Abuja-Kaduna and the Warri-Itakpe standard gauge rail lines were constructed with concessional loans, just like the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge line. Same applies to the new airport terminals in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt”.
The Minister who said he is not really very surprised that His Excellency the former Vice President only reeled out, in his so-called Economic Blueprint of what the present administration have been doing in the past seven years plus in infrastructure development, infrastructure financing, poverty reduction, power reform, job creation, relationship with the private sector, debt management and the overall management of the economy.
Said, “That’s what you get from someone who leaves the country after losing an election, only to parachute into town when another election is due”.
For the record, Alhaji Mohammed made it clear that there is nothing said today on the achievements of Buhari’s Administration that haven’t been said before. “No amount of deceit, misrepresentation, scaremongering, distortion of facts or derogation can subtract from the visible achievements of the Buhari Administration.
“An Administration that engaged in massive infrastructure development despite paucity of resources, an Administration that introduced the most expansive and effective poverty reduction and job creation policy in the history of this country, an Administration that re-equipped the military to tackle daunting security challenges instead of resorting to the use of mercenaries.
“An Administration that is moving the nation from darkness to light by embarking on the most-ambitious electricity project yet, Administration that is partnering with the private sector to tackle challenges facing the nation.
“An Administration that borrowed to rebuild rather than for consumption should not be denigrated by opposition that lacks originality, and an opposition that is aping a government it derides”, he said.