The Federal Executive Council on Thursday approved contracts worth $2.99bn for three rail projects across Lagos, Kano and Kaduna states.
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This was as it constituted a presidential power sector taskforce to be chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed the rail approvals at a post-Council meeting briefing at the State House, Abuja.
He said, “For economic development, you need infrastructure that works infrastructure that helps you with productivity and growth, and also improves the quality of life, in line with the development agenda of this government.
“Council today approved the award of contracts for three transformative rail projects. One is the Lagos Green Line Rail Project, Phase One.
“The second is the Kano State Metro City Rail Project. And the third is the Kaduna State Light Rail Project.”
Oyedele explained that the three projects, to be sponsored by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated on behalf of the Federal Government with counterpart funding, will collectively cost $2.99 billion.
“These three cities are very important and critical. All cities are important, but this is where you have your 10 per cent effort yielding 90 per cent results,” Oyedele explained.
The Lagos Green Line is arguably one of the most anticipated components of the Lagos metropolitan rail network.
It is designed to run from Marina in the heart of Lagos Island to Lekki and beyond, serving the densely populated Lagos Island and Lekki corridor that is home to some of the highest concentrations of commercial and residential activity in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Kano Metro City Rail and the Kaduna Light Rail are situated in two of the most economically significant cities in the north.
On the power sector, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that the council reached a set of “far-reaching decisions” arising from a comprehensive review conducted by a committee chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President.
The committee had been constituted on March 4 to establish and operationalise the Grid Asset Management Company.
Idris explained, “That committee undertook a very comprehensive review of the commercial, investment and institutional framework underpinning GAMCO.
“Based on the report submitted to Council today, arising from that report, I am happy to announce that Council today took very far-reaching decisions,” Idris said.
The first was the appointment of Mr Rilwan Babalola as Special Adviser to the President on Power.
The second decision was the constitution of a Power Sector Reform Taskforce to be personally chaired by the President himself.
Idris said “Council has taken another far-reaching decision by constituting a taskforce on power sector reform. All of us know that power is a major issue in this country, and Mr President, consistent with his vision of ensuring economic prosperity for Nigeria, has decided that renewed attention be put in the power sector.
“This power sector taskforce, it is called the Task Force on Power Sector Reform. Mr President himself will be the chairman of that committee, and the newly appointed Special Adviser on Power, Mr Lanre Babalola, will sit in from time to time for Mr President.”
The 10-member committee comprises the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of State for Gas, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, one member representing generating companies and one member representing distribution companies.
Idris said the composition could be expanded at the President’s discretion.
“The goal here is to ensure that there is a total overhaul of the power sector, without which real progress cannot be made in terms of industrialisation, which will ultimately lead to the economic prosperity of Nigeria,” Idris said.
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