…Says rice importation will end soon, marketers hoarding fuel to be dealt with
By Dele Ogbodo
President Muhammadu Buhari, has said rail expansion and development will top his spending on the country’s infrastructure development in months to come.
The president in a new message said there will also be massive investment in road and power sectors.
He said his administration will pursue rail expansion which includes the Kano-Lagos standard gauge and the Kano-Kaduna rail line, stressing that it is expected that on completion, it will cater for 2 million passengers and 5 million tonnage annually.
The president said the Abuja-Kaduna rail will witness a boost soon with a capacity of 1 million passengers annually.
According to him, government has started negotiating the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line, which is planned to cover Aba, Owerri, Umuahia, Enugu, Awka and Gombe, while stretching further to it
Makurdi, Lafia, Yola, Jos and Damaturu.
He said: “We are going to make significant in road, rail and power projects across the country. The ministry of Power, Road and Housing is one of the drivers of this government’s commitment to renew and increase the country’s stock of infrastructure in order as planned in government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
Buhari restated his commitment to deal oil marketers hoarding fuel across the country. He admitted that the unavailability of fuel caused untold hardship to Nigerians during the yultide season.
On power supply, he said electricity has improved with the N701 billion raised by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader through the Payment Assurance Guarantee Scheme, adding that power transmission is now 7,000megawatts from its 5,155 megawatts in first week of December.
The President said he was convinced that rice importation will in the year, adding that local rice production by both some state governments and private sector investor in farming have largely contributed to rice sufficiency across the country.