Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has stated that the current President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government had voted N8.9Trillion for infrastructural development across the country in the last six years.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 34 years of the creation of Akwa Ibom State in Uyo, the state capital, the Vice President explained that the budget has been committed to series of infrastructural development in the country.
Osinbajo, who was in Uyo, on the invitation of governor Udom Emmanuel, where he took time out to commission the multi-billion naira 21 storey smart\intelligent at the Udo Udoma Banking Layout, said part of the cash had been deployed into railways, roads and other physical projects in the country.
According to him, the Federal Government has approved the Lagos-Calabar rail line that is expected to criss-cross some Niger Delta states to terminate in Calabar, Cross River State.
“The Federal Government had earmarked N8.9trillion for infrastructure in the last six years including the Lagos-Calabar rail line that will pass through Uyo, Akwa Ibom state to Calabar,” he stressed
Osinbajo, who performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the Dakkada Housing Estate and commissioned the 21-story business building for International Oil Companies (IOCs) expected to relocate to their operational areas in Niger Delta, commended the governor for the feat.
He noted that the building would complement the industrialization policy of the state government and boost the private sector activities for job creation and more investments opportunities and revenue.
“It is the catalyst for the private sector; the setting up of the building is a way of creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive,” he said, adding that it would compel the multi-national oil companies to relocate to their operational base in the region.
Governor Udom Emmanuel had earlier appealed to the Vice President to impress it on President Muhammadu Buhari, to give Executive Order (EO) for the IOCs to relocate as his administration has been able to overcome the accommodation challenges with the inauguration of the smart building.
He said his administration had to commit billions of funds accruable to the state in erecting the facility as IOCs had hinged their relocation to Akwa Ibom on accommodation and other enablers including security
