Babatunde Fashola, minister for
power, works and housing, has asked those critical of the borrowings of
President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to tell the current administration how
to raise funds.
Speaking with reporters during a
two-day retreat in Sokoto, Fashola said the delay of the 2018 budget by the
national assembly made the ministry resort to borrowing to complete abandoned
projects.
He said the Buhari administration
deserves commendation for completing many abandoned projects, adding that many
projects had been abandoned for lack of funds before Buhari came into power.
“Buhari’s government revived the
contracts that were stopped. If a contractor does not get paid, there is no
magic to getting the work completed. He will have no alternative than to stop,”
he said.
“You don’t expect the work that
would have been done in decades to be completed within three and a half years.
“They (national assembly) are
guilty of the slow pace of work. They shut the NASS session for two months and
delayed the passage of budget for close to 9 months.
“We had to borrow through the
Ministry of Finance and invest on road to enhance productivity, reduce journey,
cost and time for business in order to generate income and wealth creation to
payback the loans.
“Those who complain we borrow too
much should tell us where else to find funds. We are not raising tax and if we
do, they will still complain.”
Atiku Abubakar, presidential
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had faulted the borrowing plan
of the government.
He had challenged Buhari to
explain how his government spent “N16 trillion in three years”.
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