South East governors, FG bicker over alleged marginalization

Governors of the South-Eastern states and the Federal Government have disagreed over alleged marginalization of the South East geo-political zone in the citing and execution of federal projects.

While the governors lampooned the Federal Government, saying it has been shortchanged, the Federal Government is insisting that the zone has had a fair share of its presence through projects.

The governors made their stand known through the Director General of South-East Governors Forum, Prof. Simon Otuanya, who presented a monitoring report on performance of the 2017 federal capital budget in the South East.

According to the governors, they are interested in the 2017 budget because it is tied to the 2017-2020 Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the present administration.

The position of the Federal Government was made known in reactions from the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola and his Information counterpart, Lai Mohammed, who both said the position of the governors are unfortunate since they know the series of interventions by the Federal Government in the region.

Otunaya, in his presentation said: “The capital projects implementation in 2017 did not fare well at all in South East states.

“The roads have remained impassable and so the Federal Government should please do better in 2018 and we hope that the Federal Government will make the improvement.”

In his reaction to the governors claim, Fashola, said the allegation was not true, noting that the Federal Government has executed many projects in the South-East.

The minister, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Hakeem Bello, accused the governors of talking politics, insisting that the allegation is not based on verifiable facts.

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“The government has executed many projects in the region, including those abandoned by previous administrations. For instance, the federal government has released the proceeds of the N100 billion Sukuk bond to 25 key economic road projects across the country, including those in the South-East.

“These projects are located in the nation’s six geo-political zones, including South-East that has four major road schemes.

‘’Specifically, each of the geo-political zones of the country has received the sum of N16.67 billion for road projects.”

A document from the ministry lists a number of projects that are ongoing in the region yo include: “Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section II: Umuahia Tower, Aba, Township Rail/Road Bridge Crossing (CH.120+500-CH. 176+600) in Abia State.

“Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section I: Lokpanta Umuahia Tower (CH. 61+000-CH. 120+500) in Abia State.

‘’Rehabilitation of Outstanding Section Of Onitsha-Enugu Expressway: Amansea – Enugu State Border. Rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section, III: Enugu-Lokpanta in Enugu State.’’

In his own reaction, the information minister, Lai Mohammed contended that the Federal Government has provided critical infrastructure in South East.

According to him, it was unfortunate that such claim was coming from the South-East governors who knew about the federal government’s intervention in the region.

“There is a verifiable record of provision of key infrastructure in the South East ànd we are going to formally release it for the benefit of all Nigerians,” the minister said.

 

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