[dropcap]A[/dropcap] coalition of 75 pressure groups in Nigeria under the aegis of Campaign Against Legislative Rascality (CALR), has asked the National Assembly to approve the funds earmarked for completion of ongoing road projects.
CALR’s Director-General, Prof. Yusuf Madaki, in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, said that approving the funds would fastrack completion of the projects.
He said that delay in the approval of funds was delaying infrastructural development in the country.
The coalition appealed to the Senate and House of Representatives to quickly reconvene and pass the virement transmitted to the National Assembly by the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.
According to Madaki, approving the virement will alleviate the sufferings of transporters and commuters in the country.
Madaki regretted that works had been suspended by contractors on most of the projects following unsettled debts by the Federal Government.
”The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had promised to prioritise some major arterial routes in the country as ‘Flagship Projects’ for urgent intervention.
”The roads are Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja; Kano- Maiduguri; Lagos- Ibadan Expressway; Oyo-Ilorin-Jebba; Benin-Shagamu; Onitsha-Enugu-Port-Harcourt; 2nd Niger Bridge and Loko-Oweto Bridge.
”Works, however, have been suspended on most of the projects by the contractors following unsettled debts by the Federal Government.”
He appealed to the National Assembly to approve funds meant for the roads in the interest of road users so that contractors could go back to site.
Madaki said that the National Assembly should as a matter of urgent national importance consider the virement transmitted by Osinbajo as agreed by both the Executive and Legislative arms of government when the 2017 budget was signed.
He said that such approval would enable the Ministry of Works to make funds available to the various contractors handling the road projects.
“The delay in funding these projects means commuters and Nigerians in general will continue to suffer.
“The suspension of work on the project is not good enough because these are routes that are used by several families from all parts of the country and thousands of road users.
“To play politics with the completion of these roads is uncalled for and unnecessary; we think that the legislators should urgently reconvene from recess to revisit the issue,” he said.
