{"id":69220,"date":"2019-09-18T13:23:34","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T12:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=69220"},"modified":"2019-09-18T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:08:09","slug":"fixing-nigerias-infrastructural-deficit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/fixing-nigerias-infrastructural-deficit\/","title":{"rendered":"FIXING NIGERIA\u2019S INFRASTRUCTURAL DEFICIT"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
BY JIDE AYOBOLU<\/div>\n
\n
\nIt would be recalled that during the tenure of President Goodluck
\nJonathan a barrel oil in the international market was over $100\u00a0 and by
\nthe time President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the mantle of leadership, as
\nthe President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
\nin 2015, a barrel in the global market had slumped to about $30 or even
\nless and since oil is largest revenue earner for the Nigerian State, how
\nto effectively managed the national economy and provide the necessary
\ninfrastructure became a monumental challenge, this as coupled with the
\nfact that the economy was in a recession, occasioned by\u00a0 past years of
\neconomic and financial mismanagement as well as well documented
\nevidences of widespread corruption.<\/p>\n

It is therefore very alarming and worrisome that when President Buhari
\nbecame came to power, he noticed a very wide infrastructural chasm; it
\nis not that the previous government did not embark on infrastructural
\nefforts, but the work done did not match the inflow of funds during the
\nperiod in question. And, infrastructural development has a formidable
\nnexus in actual development of any nation state.<\/p>\n

President Muhammadu Buhari recently in Abuja called for more concerted
\neffort, creative and innovative ideas from the Nigerian Society of
\nEngineers (NSE) in reversing the infrastructure deficit in the country,
\nsaying \u201cNigerian problems require uniquely Nigerian solutions\u2019\u2019.
\nPresident Buhari, who received a delegation of the NSE led by the
\nPresident, Council of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Adekunle
\nMokuolu, said reversing the deficit will require indigenous capacity,
\nnoting that the government has deliberately structured policies to
\nfavour more local content and capacity development. \u201cThe\u00a0 \u00a0foundations
\nof\u00a0 \u00a0any\u00a0 \u00a0developed,\u00a0 \u00a0competitive\u00a0 \u00a0and prosperous society are based
\non good education and quality infrastructure. Many nations we look up to
\nare those with adequate and accessible infrastructure, power and water
\nresources. \u201cThey achieved these by embracing engineering and of
\ncourse, engineers. Over the years, Nigerian engineers have been
\nrecognized globally for carrying out amazing and impactful projects.
\nUnfortunately, this is not the case here at home as for decades, the
\nenabling environment was simply not provided for these innovative and
\ncreative professionals to flourish and showcase our country as an
\nengineering hub,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

The President urged the professionals to look inward in showcasing their
\nknowledge and skill in a way that will directly impact the nation. \u201cIn
\nthe past four years, we focused on reversing this trend by introducing
\npolicies that will create the enabling environment for engineers to
\nsucceed and thrive. \u201cWe\u00a0 \u00a0introduced\u00a0 \u00a0Executive\u00a0 \u00a0Orders\u00a0 \u00a0and
\nembarked\u00a0 \u00a0on\u00a0 \u00a0several\u00a0 \u00a0infrastructure\u00a0 \u00a0development\u00a0 \u00a0and
\nrehabilitation projects. As a Government, we also prioritized local
\ncontent in our procurement processes,\u2019\u2019 the President added.
\nPresident Buhari asked the engineers to continue to support Government
\nat all levels to build a more prosperous society.<\/p>\n

It is also imperative to underscore the fact that, the Federal
\nGovernment has introduced three alternative funding sources to tackle
\nroad projects. The Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mr Adedamola
\nKuti, made the disclosure in Lagos. \u201cThe first type of alternative
\nfunding source is the Sukkuk, which is a type of Islamic loan with
\nalmost 0% interest rate.\u00a0 \u201d The loan does not only have minimal
\ninterest rate, it is also very affordable. It is very attractive to the
\ngovernment.\u00a0 \u201cThough no project in Lagos has benefitted from it, the
\nFederal Government has picked 25 roads nationwide across the six
\ngeopolitical zones to benefit from the loan,\u201d Kuti said.<\/p>\n

He said that the first tranche of the Sukkuk funding released to the
\ngovernment was N100 billion, adding that this sum was divided equally to
\nprojects across the six geopolitical zones. According to the controller,
\nprojects in the South West benefitting from the funding are the
\nAjebandele-Sagamu Road and the Oyo-ibadan Road. According to Kuti, the
\nsecond source of funding is the National Sovereign Investment Authority
\n(NSIA).<\/p>\n

He said that five critical projects in Nigeria were benefitting from the
\nspecial funding in hard currency. \u201cThe projects benefitting from the
\nfunding include the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, and
\nthe Second Niger Bridge.\u00a0 \u201cA section of the East-West Road from Oron
\nto Eket and the Mambilla Plateau Electricity Project are also under the
\nNSIA funding.\u201d\u00a0 Kuti said that the third alternative funding source
\nintroduced was the Tax Credit Scheme.\u00a0 \u201cThe Apapa-Oworonshoki
\nExpressway project is under the scheme, where an investor has been
\nidentified, i.e Messrs Dangote. \u201cThis road is the beginning of the
\nLagos-Ibadan Expressway,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

According to the controller, under the scheme, an investor advances the
\ngovernment its tax for a specified number of years.\u00a0 \u201cThis advance tax
\nis used to fix roads,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt is a win-win situation for
\neverybody. The investor protects his investment in the chosen area,
\nbusiness begins to boom.\u00a0 \u201d A lot of people have been complaining that
\nbusinesses are failing due to bad roads,\u201d the controller said. The
\ncontroller said that hitherto a lot of projects had been having
\ndifficulties getting appropriate funding for their implementation.<\/p>\n

The Federal Government has also said the nation would need a whopping
\n$166 billion to meet its energy and transport infrastructure requirement
\nover the next five years. Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, who
\nrevealed this during a public hearing on Nigerian Railway Authority Bill
\nand National Transport Commission Bill, said the Federal Government and
\nGeneral Electric (GE) have an agreement to commercialize the Lagos-Kano
\nrailway project. \u201cBesides privatization, government also realized a
\nmonumental infrastructure deficit which as at 2015 stood at over $3.05
\ntrillion in 30 years or $166 billion in five years with energy and
\ntransport infrastructure taking more than 50 per cent of that need,\u201d
\nthe Minister said. \u201cTransport infrastructure alone needs a whopping
\n$50.9 billion in five years to cover the current gap in the sector, an
\naverage of $10.2 billion per year. Currently, the ratio of funding in
\nthe sector between the public and private is 9:1. This constituted a
\nmajor disincentive to private sector participation in the industry.
\n\u201cIn addition, it is considered imperative to intimate this Committee
\nthat full government ownership and management of these agencies had
\ninherent restrictions for third party funding, undue government
\ninterferences; burdensome bureaucratic structures and over-bloated work
\nforce among others,\u201d Amaechi added.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the former Minister of Solid Mineral Development, now the
\nExecutive Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, lamented the level
\nof decay of Nigeria\u2019s infrastructure, saying that it will cost the
\nnation $3 trillion to fix. The Minister said this at a business forum
\norganized by the Royal African Society in London, the United Kingdom.
\nQuoting a report by the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan,
\nhe said, Nigeria\u2019s current core infrastructure stock gap, based on
\ninternational benchmarks, is estimated at $80 billion.<\/p>\n

To finance the infrastructural deficits, therefore, the Federal
\nGovernment set up a $25 billion infrastructure fund to bridge the
\nfunding gap in infrastructure development in the country, the former
\nMinister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, insisted. According to Adeosun,
\nsetting up the fund became necessary due to the need to upgrade the
\ncountry\u2019s current infrastructure, which is in a very sorry state. She
\nspoke at the inauguration of the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan,
\nNigeria Investor Protection Fund, and the launch of the Corporate
\nGovernance Scorecard for quoted companies by the Securities and Exchange
\nCommission.\u00a0 The ex-finance minister challenged the capital market
\ncommunity to come up with other innovative ways of mobilizing capital
\nneeded to address the nation\u2019s infrastructure problem. She said, \u201cIn
\nthe current environment of significant revenue squeeze and other
\nbudgetary constraints, these investments will clearly not come from
\ngovernment coffers alone. We believe this is where the capital market
\ncan really make itself relevant by stepping in to close the funding gap.
\n\u201cGovernment is already looking to set up a $25 billion fund wholly
\ndedicated to infrastructure investments. A crucial assignment we have
\nfor the capital market community is to come up with other innovative
\nways of mobilizing the capital needed to address Nigeria\u2019s
\ninfrastructure challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the former minister, an efficient and vibrant capital market is an
\nindispensable feature of any modern economy supplying affordable
\nmedium-to-long term capital needed for growth as they facilitate
\nmobilization of savings, accelerate capital formation, provide
\ninvestment avenues and enhance efficient allocation of capital to the
\ngrowth of sectors as no country has been able to develop without a
\nthriving capital market.<\/p>\n

In a related development, the Federal Ministry of Finance has unfolded
\nplans to reposition the Sovereign Wealth Fund in line with the
\ninfrastructure objectives of the federal government. The former Minister
\nof Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said the sovereign wealth fund is currently
\nbeing managed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority under the
\nSWF, which had a seed capital of $ 1.55 billion there are three
\ncategories of fund from which investments could be anchored. They are
\nFuture Generation Fund where up to 20 per cent of the fund could be
\ninvested in it, Infrastructure Fund which had an allocation of 40 per
\ncent, and Fiscal Stabilization Fund which also had a 40 per cent
\nallocation. She said since budgetary allocations alone would not be able
\nto address the infrastructure gap as only 30 per cent of the budget had
\nbeen allocated to capital projects, there was need to reposition the
\nsovereign wealth fund to attract more investments in the area of
\ninfrastructure. She said, \u201cThe economic blueprint is very clear. We
\nare going to invest in capital projects to ensure that we diversify this
\neconomy. \u201cWe have been talking about diversification since I was a
\nchild and we haven\u2019t achieved that. \u201cWhat the FG wants to do is
\nreposition and have it (SWF) focused in line with government\u2019s
\nobjectives which is investments in infrastructure. \u201cThe government
\nrealized that even with 30 per cent of the budget earmarked for capital
\nspending, the country\u2019s infrastructure gap is so wide that government
\nalone cannot bridge it. \u201cSo what we are hoping is that the sovereign
\nwealth fund now becomes a channel to attract further private capital,
\nparticularly from investment funds abroad. \u201cWe really want to focus on
\ninfrastructure \u2013 toll roads, bridges, power plants; things that would
\nhelp the economy grow.\u201d She said the government is focused on
\nrevamping domestic production as part of efforts to diversify the
\neconomy. Hence, it is very obvious that this government is making all
\nnecessary efforts to really bridge the massive infrastructural gaps in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n

The federal government confirmed the approval of the transfer of $650
\nmillion (about N198.9 billion) to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment
\nAuthority (NSIA) as seed funding for the newly established Presidential
\nInfrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). The National Economic Council
\n(NEC) announced the establishment of the Fund and the disbursement of
\nthe seed funding at the end of its meeting recently. Details released by
\nNEC showed that the PIDF would be managed by the NSIA. The fund is
\nexpected to be invested in critical road and power projects across the
\ncountry. The initial transfer of $650 million to the NSIA was authorized
\nfrom the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend account at the
\nCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN).<\/p>\n

A statement from the NSIA said the initiative was aimed at eliminating
\nthe risks of project funding, cost variation and completion that have
\nplagued the development of the nation\u2019s critical infrastructure assets
\nover the last few decades. Ongoing projects mostly impacted by paucity
\nof funding include the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos to Ibadan Expressway,
\nEast\u2014West Road, Abuja to Kano Road, and Mambilla Hydroelectric
\nPower.\u201cThis commitment by the President and NEC, allows all State
\nGovernments to own an economic interest in the project companies that
\nwill be professionally developed and managed by the NSIA,\u201d the
\nstatement said. \u201cThe investments will yield returns, which will
\ndiversify revenues to States, improve the fiscal sustainability profile
\nof the Federation and ensure Nigerians benefit from modernized
\nInfrastructure for decades to come,\u201d it added. The NEC said the PIDF
\nwould help secure counterpart funding required for projects being
\nco-developed with China Export-Import Bank and China Development Bank.
\nThe NSIA said any additional funding required from development partners
\nfor projects in the country would be mobilized.<\/p>\n

Besides, President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja, reaffirmed that his
\nadministration will sustain the delivery of quality infrastructure
\nacross the country for investments and businesses to thrive.\u00a0 Receiving
\nrepresentatives of Trade Associations from the 36 states and the FCT led
\nby the National Coordinator, Prince Paul Ikonne, President Buhari
\npledged that he will continue to do his best to ensure that the country
\nis safe and secure for everybody.<\/p>\n

To further exemplify the commitment of the Federal Government to
\ninfrastructural development, it set up the North East Development
\nCommission to development the whole of North East that was ravaged by
\nthe menace of the Boko Haram insurgency by providing qualitative
\ninfrastructure in the geo-political zone. Similarly, the government put
\nin place a comprehensive plan of action to genuinely and lengthily build
\nup the Niger Delta region, after years of deliberate neglect, in spite
\nof persistent protest from people of the region.<\/p>\n

Just to mention a few of the many infrastructural efforts have carried
\nout; these are Gwoza \u2013 Damboa \u2013 Goniri \u2013 Ngamdu Road in Yobe\/ and
\nBorno States by Hajaig Construction Nigeria Ltd at the cost of N34.6
\nbillion as well as the rehabilitation of Mayo Belwa \u2013 Jada \u2013 Ganye
\n\u2013 Toungo Road in Adamawa state by Messrs Triacta Nigeria Ltd. at the
\nrate of N22.7 billion.<\/p>\n

Other contracts approved are Ado \u2013 Ifaki \u2013 Otun \u2013 Kwara State
\nborder in Ekiti State at the rate of N6 billion, the repair of Makurdi
\nbridge in Benue State by Messrs AG Vision Construction Ltd.N4.7 billion,
\nIhugi \u2013 Korinya -Wuse -Ankor in Benue State was given to Datum
\nConstruction Ltd at the cost of N15.6 billion.<\/p>\n

Also, approved was Gbagi \u2013 Apa \u2013 Owode in Badagry Lagos State to
\nMessrs Smithcrown Nigeria Ltd at N4.4 billion, and the Construction of
\nIjebu Igbo \u2013 Ita Egba Owonowen in Ogun and Oyo state to Messrs DC
\nEngineering at the cost of N9.8 billion and the Dualisation of Jattu \u2013
\nFugar \u2013 Agenebode road in Edo Phase II by Mothercat at N7.5 billion.<\/p>\n

There was also an approval for Makurdi \u2013 Gboko \u2013 Wannune \u2013 Yander
\nSection 1 in Benue State to Messrs Rockbridge Construction Ltd. at the
\nrate of N18.6 billion, Old \u2013 Enugu \u2013 Port Harcourt Road at Agbogugu
\n\u2013 Abia border Spur by Messrs Setraco Ltd. at N13.9 billion,
\nRehabilitation of Umulungbe \u2013 Umoka road at N6.2 billion, Amokwu \u2013
\nIkedimkpe \u2013 Egede \u2013 Opeyi Awhum Road in Enugu State to Messrs IDC
\nConstruction at N21.7 billion and the rehabilitation of Nkwu Inyi \u2013
\nAkpugoeze in Anambra State awarded to Anbeez Services at N2.6 billion.
\nSabon Birnin \u2013 Tsululu \u2013 Kuya \u2013 Maradi Junction road in Sokoto by
\nMessrs China Zhonghao Nigeria Ltd at the cost of N4.4 billion.<\/p>\n

President Buhari, however, stated that the government would continue to
\nwork on the country\u2019s road network as well as other infrastructures
\nand stressed that his administration had raised the country\u2019s
\nbudgetary commitment for capital projects from 15 per cent to a minimum
\nof 30 per cent. He stated these in Abuja at a one-day public
\nenlightenment forum on developments in the road sector. The forum was
\norganized by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY JIDE AYOBOLU It would be recalled that during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan a barrel oil in the international market was over $100\u00a0 and by the time President…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\nFIXING NIGERIA\u2019S INFRASTRUCTURAL DEFICIT - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/fixing-nigerias-infrastructural-deficit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FIXING NIGERIA\u2019S INFRASTRUCTURAL DEFICIT - 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