FG Reiterates Commitment to Prioritize Spending on Infrastructure, Human Capital

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to prioritize spending on infrastructure and human capital to catalyze rapid economic development.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said this at the 21st edition of Town Hall Meeting on the achievements of the Federal Government in infrastructure development held in Abuja on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture was conceived as part of efforts to bridge the communication gap between the government and the citizenry.

She pointed out that the Federal Government successfully implemented a range of infrastructure programmes that had impacted positively on the lives of the citizenry.

“Good quality infrastructure is important, not only to engender and accelerate economic growth, but also to ensure and enhance inclusive growth for all within a nation space.

“This administration continues to prioritise spending on infrastructure and human capital to catalyse rapid economic development.

“In 2022, the ministry intends to spend about N1.42 trillion on infrastructure and N2.11 trillion on human capital development,’’ the minister said.

She said the Federal Government was able to invest much in infrastructure through the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme (RITCS) and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF).

According to her, since the inception of the RITCS, the president has approved 14 additional roads, bringing the total to 33 road projects, covering a total length of 1,564.95 kilometers as at 2021.

“These additional projects are in 19 states across the six geo-political zones in the country,’’ she said.

According to Ahmed, the Federal Government, through the NIF, has been to catalyze the growth of key sectors, support projects of national importance and attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the infrastructure sector.

She listed some of the sectors of interest to include agriculture, healthcare, power and gas.

“Consequently, over a period of seven years (2015 – 2021), we have invested and completed 13 projects across seven key sectors including healthcare, education, agriculture, financial services and housing.

“Some of these completed projects comprise the UFF-NAIC Agri Fund, established with Old Mutual to invest in processing opportunities.

“This is with backward integration to primary agriculture and the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) – an agriculture-focused private equity fund for agricultural SMEs across Nigeria.

“Another is the AFAM III Fast Power – a N10.4 billion investment in the procurement and local assembly of solar home systems as part of the Federal Government’s solar strategy for the electrification of five million households.

“In the healthcare sector, we have completed three infrastructure projects worth 22.5 million dollars.’’

According to the minister, they include the NSIA-LUTH Oncology Centre, which has provided services to more than 4,000 patients since its commissioning.

Also, “we have completed the NSIA-FMCU and the NSIA-AKTH Diagnostic Centre’s – two ultra-modern facilities located at Abia and Kano states.

“Furthermore, both diagnostic Centre’s have provided services to more than 47,000 clients,’’ she said.

On housing infrastructure development, Ahmed said that the ministry contributed to the implementation of the mortgage-based affordable housing scheme.

“In the last three years (2019 – 2021), the scheme has recorded a total of more than 13,542 houses.

“Furthermore, through the NIF, there are ongoing projects such as the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), which is a 300 million dollars NSIA investment.

“This is established to attract capital and accelerate the completion of key infrastructure projects, which includes the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (LIE), Second Niger Bridge (2NB), and Abuja-Kano road (AKR).

“Some of the projects are approaching completion with LIE at 79 per cent, 2NB at 83 per cent and AKR at 27 per cent.

She also described the presidential Power Initiative as another project initiated by the Federal Government to influence the lives of Nigerians.

“The first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative will provide more than 40 million people with more reliable electricity supply, create 11,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.

“This will be from power system engineers to electricians and contractors, and this will in turn improve the standard of living while providing homes and businesses with constant, reliable and affordable electricity supply,’’ the minister said.