FG has paid N63.12b to construction firms - Fashola

According to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the Federal Government has so far paid 70 construction companies the sum of N63.12bn for works done in the first quarter of 2016.

Fashola said on Friday that following the payment, the firms had mobilized back to their  construction sites, and in the process, recalled over 5,000 workers that had hitherto been laid off.

He stressed that the budget was an article of faith through which government expressed its commitment to the people.

“From the N4tn average budget in a time of plenty, this administration sets an ambitious N6tn with a 30 per cent capital expenditure. It pays serious attention to its budget as the article of faith that defines its commitment. Since the budget was passed in May, 70 construction companies got paid N63.169bn for the first quarter in Works ministry alone.

“The response is that in the last few weeks since budget was passed, construction companies that had demobilised from their sites and laid off workers due to lack of payment since 2014, are remobilising to rail, road, power and other construction sites, and are re-calling workers.

“The Kaduna-Abuja rail project, which was commissioned but never ran in the past government, was opened to public service on July 26 by this new administration. These are the first signs of productivity, they signal a clear pathway out of recession, and although results take time to manifest, Nigeria has chosen an appropriate pathway out of economic difficulty," he said.