The Muhammadu Buhari regime has a lot to show for the many loans it has taken since its inception, says Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture.
The minister said this on Thursday in Maiduguri at a Town Hall Meeting to address vandalism of power and telecommunications infrastructure.
The event was attended by Borno Governor, Babagana Zulun, his Deputy, Usman Kadafur, traditional, religious and political leaders and other stakeholders.
“Today, we have new airport terminals in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt, the Itakpe-Warri rail line that was abandoned for decades is running.
“We have well over 13,000km of federal roads under repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction and there is a road project in every state,
“Today, we have started the countdown to when the 2nd Niger Bridge, which successive administrations have built only on paper, will be completed,’’ he said.
The Buhari regime faces widespread criticisms over its knack for incessant borrowings which critics say put the future of the country in danger.
Mr Buhari had last week sent a fresh round of request to the National Assembly, seeking permission to borrow another $4 billion loan.
Many, including business leaders, opposition parties and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have sounded a note of warning on the excessive borrowing.
Mr Mohammed says those ramping up the criticism of Mr Buhari’s administration on borrowing are insincere.
The minister said it was an irony that those criticising the administration performed abysmally in terms of modernising the nation’s infrastructure when they served at a time earnings were multiples of what they were getting currently
He said if the previous administration had embarked on the kind of infrastructure development the Buhari government engaged in, there would have been no reason to borrow.
“For example, in their time, they claimed to have spent billions of naira in building infrastructure, but as one can see, their infrastructure projects were only on paper.
“Today, we are still saddled with looking for resources to build the same infrastructure for which they claimed to have allocated huge resources.
“We will not be deterred by the antics of those who believe they can play politics with everything.’’
Mr Mohammed said the town hall meeting was the third and final edition of the three-series town hall meeting dedicated to addressing the wanton destruction of public infrastructure
He said efforts by the present administration to address massive infrastructure deficit the country was facing were being thwarted by vandals and their collaborators.
The minister said Borno was chosen as venue because Maiduguri had been cut off from public power supply since January due to the destruction of power infrastructure by terrorists.
“The terrorists who are destroying power and telecommunication facilities in Borno, have chosen to weaponise these attacks in order to inflict the maximum hardship on the people and also slow down the advances of our gallant troops in decimating them,’’ he said.
(NAN)
