The President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has disclosed that his commitment to effecting real changes in the country pricked his interest in sorting out Nigeria’s infrastructural deficit.
The president disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing a delegation from Kaduna State, led by the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, and Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Hadiza Sabuwa Balaraba at the State House.
This was contained in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘People Could Have Been Trekking From Lagos to Ibadan, If We Hadn’t Intervened in Road, Rail Projects, Says President Buhari’.
He said he understood from the beginning of his regime that no country could advance without adequate infrastructure, hence his commitment to change the story and deliver on important projects that would change the fortune of Nigeria and Nigerians.
According to him, prioritizing infrastructure projects ameliorated hardship in some parts of the country, particularly the quick intervention on the Lagos-Ibadan route with completion of road and rail lines, which improved the traffic significantly.
“My objective was very clear, despite the dwindling resources, I wanted to deal with infrastructure across the country.
“We should look at advancement in terms of Infrastructure. No country can advance without infrastructure. There used to be railways, especially people from Southern Kaduna will remember this.
“Which country can really advance without road, rail and power, that’s why I wanted to sort out infrastructure, knowing that Nigerians are competitive by nature, and they will face their businesses when there’s road, rail and power,’’ he added.
The president said the challenge of commuting in the South West had been improved after his regime embarked on the said projects in the region.
“The people from South West can tell better because between Lagos and Ibadan by now, if we hadn’t done what we did, people would have been trekking because the road was not there, the rail was not there and there was so much insecurity.
“But we thank the international community. We thank China and Chinese investors, who came along to support the Lagos-Ibadan transport projects,’’ he said.
Buhari assured that the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure will be sustained, which include the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano express road, being handled by Julius Berger to ensure good, long-term quality.
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