Minister of Culture and Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday said 69 federal projects are currently ongoing in the South-East Geo-political Zone.
He was reacting to a statement credited to governors of the South-East region that the Federal Government has failed the zone in the provision of infrastructure, adding that no region was left out by the present administration.
The minister spoke yesterday in Ilorin during the Buhari/Osinbajo 2019 project lecture and inauguration of ward/local government canvassers. The lecture was organised by Mr. Festus Keyamo, spokesman for the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization.
“Suffice it to say that the South-East, just like other geo-political zones, got N16.6 billion worth of projects from the proceeds of the N100 billion Sukuk Bond, shared equally among the six zones. I have taken journalists on a tour of some of these projects in the South-East. They include the four roads being rehabilitated and reconstructed by the proceeds of the Sukuk Bond:
“Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section II (Umuahia Tower-Aba Township Rail/Road Bridge Crossing in Abia State, Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section I (Lokpanta – Umahia Tower) in Abia State, Outstanding section of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway (Amansea – Enugu State Border), Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway Section III (Enugu-Lokpanta) in Enugu State.
“In addition to these roads, we also inspected the N40 billion Aba-Port Harcourt section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, a strategic road linking Aba and other industrial heartland of the East with Port Harcourt, the nation’s oil hub.
“Let me say that these projects were awarded by the last Administration which, however, failed to provide funding. As a matter of fact, a section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt road, which cuts across many states, was turned to a refuse dump before this Administration came to the rescue,” he said.
The minister added that the South-east has never had it so good in the area of infrastructure.
