Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday said lack of budgetary provision was slowing down his ministry’s plan to intervene in 61 roads across the country.
Fashola disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said, “I want to sincerely empathise with commuters using that road (Apapa-Oshodi Expressway) at this moment. The raining season is not very helpful for ministries departments and agencies responsible for civil works and road maintenance.
“We have seen what is happening on a global scale. We had made some plans to forestall these kind of things.
“We have identified 61 critical intervention spots across the country following my tour in the first quarter but we did not get the budgetary support to make that intervention. So we are constrained.
“You will remember I had also spoken on the need for a contingency fund but even if we had the cash, if there is no appropriation, you cannot spend the money and you cannot anticipate and detail in advance of your current where these emergencies will happen.
“But I assure that we are responding on a case by case basis. You will see our response in Rivers, in Niger at Tatago and Bukani.
“We will respond, our contractors have been notified so we urged the citizens to bear with us and also know that this is a government that came to power on the basis of a commitment to end impunity and corruption.
“So, we must do things according to process and according to law. But we will try and do it in such a way that it will not adversely affect our capacity to deliver service.”
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