Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has assured Nigerians that the Nigerian government will continue to work collaboratively to ensure government projects are accessible to the people.
Idris made the remarks during a tour of Federal and State government projects in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for completing, sustaining, and ensuring the continuity of the Maiduguri Emergency Power Gas Plant.
“At one point, insurgent activities led to complete power outages in Maiduguri and other parts of the state. We must credit former President Muhammadu Buhari for initiating the establishment of this gas power plant. We must also commend President Bola Tinubu for his determination to ensure its completion, continuity, and sustainability,” he said.
During the visit, the Information Minister highlighted ongoing infrastructural developments across Nigeria.
“The power plant has the capacity to meet the energy needs of the entire city of Maiduguri and beyond. Security personnel have assured us that this plant is secure from any form of attack. This is a remarkable site. Maiduguri now enjoys efficient, almost round-the-clock electricity, complementing the Federal Ministry of Power’s efforts to fully electrify Nigeria,” Idris said.
The Minister recalled that in March, the country achieved over 5,000 megawatts in power generation and noted that with the Maiduguri Emergency Power Plant, there will be improved electricity supply, boosting businesses and household electrification.
Idris and his team, including state government officials, also visited a solar energy plant with over 24,000 panels supplying power to the University of Maiduguri and its teaching hospital.
The Minister inspected secondary schools, ongoing interchange bridge constructions by the state government, and the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, being developed by the federal government with state support.
He said; “This is only possible because there is now a fiscal headroom that is created as a result of the reform programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to free up resources so that the federal government and the sub-nationals can have enough money to provide facilities for their people. We’ve seen that in education, we’ve seen that in power supply, we are seeing that in agriculture, we are also seeing this in aviation.”
The Minister added that : “This facility that we are standing here is actually a federal government facility, but because of the cooperation between the federal government and the sub-nationals, the state government asked for, and the Nigerian government approved, you know, that they can also extend this facility to have an international wing, so that truly, Muhammadu Buhari Airport can truly become an international airport.”
It will be recalled that few weeks ago, the Information Minister and his delegation were in the southeastern part of the country, precisely Enugu and Ebonyi state to inspect some of the Nigerian and State projects.