Politics

Go ask Mr President, Fashola tells those unhappy with his 3 ministerial jobs

Published

8 years ago

August 10, 2016

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The tripartite Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), has called on those unhappy with his three ministerial positions to complain to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The former governor of Lagos state stated this during a town hall meeting in Abuja, while responding to a question by a participant, if the three ministries, which are being supervised by him (Fashola), were not too much for only one man.

“We have spoken about the cost of running the government, and in trying to reduce that cost, the President decided to merge the three ministries.

“My work is supervisory and today in the ministry of works and in the ministry of housing, there are over 4,000 personnel and the number is reducing. The ministry of power has about 800 workers today and the number is reducing.

“So, it is no longer a government-driven sector, it is now a government-regulated sector driven by private sector. And if you have issues about that, I think you should complain to Mr. President,” Fashola advised.

In a different question from another participant on why Nigeria has continued to rely on gas for electricity when there were alternatives in hydro and coal, the tripartite minister responded that Zungeru and Mambilla hydro plants were being worked on.

He however regretted that Mambilla, which was conceived in 1982 when he was 19 years old, is yet to be realised.

Earlier, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who chaired the occasion, said there were 11 ministers in the hall even though they were nine, jokingly referring to the multiple portfolios occupied by Fashola.

Setting the tone for the interactions he said, “If policies don’t work, there is nothing wrong in reviewing them. The government must be open to suggestions. If the people say they are hungry, the government should listen to them.”

The vice-chancellor of the Bingham University, Nasarawa State, Professor Leonard Kursim-Fwa, expressed worry about the state of education, infrastructure deficiency and poor electricity, among others.

A former director-general of the National Mathematical Centre, Professor Sam Ale, who said electricity had improved since Fashola became the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, was shouted down by people in the hall, who murmured in disapproval.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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