Why my ministry has the largest budget —Fashola

He said during the process of delivering on these projects, jobs are also created either directly or indirectly.

Fashola disclosed this at the inspection of Federal Government National Housing Projects located in Dukpai Area of Gwagwalada, Abuja.

His words: “Again, let me repeat, when you hear that FMPWH has the largest budget, this is what happens to that budget. We are just a conduit for moving it to Nigerians through awarded contracts, works done and payments made.”

The Minister said with developmental projects scattered across the country in the area of works, housing and power, the current administration has created desired jobs for the citizens and making greater impacts.

He said the projects are testimonies and justification of the huge budgetary provisions allotted to his ministry since the commencement of the administration.

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“The Buhari administration infrastructure commitment is actually getting to where it should get to, in the hands of real and ordinary people like Fidelis and Ibrahim as carpenters, who represents those people. The project foreman, the 30 labourers mixing cement and other ordinary people who may never get to see the President but he is impacting his policies and programmes.

“Cement mixed, wood works done by carpenters, iron rods put together by iron benders, this is the destination of that budget and from here, it will get to the market, they will buy bread, provisions, meat, pepper-soup in the evening and drink Kunun and Zobo at night. So this is the economy.

“I think you have heard from Fidelis and Ibrahim, who essentially were unemployed before this project started, who have found employment by one of our contractors on this block of 24 flats,” he said.

On sustainability, the Minister described the project as proof of concept which would outlive the current administration.               

Speaking while assessing the level of projects at the site, the minister expressed satisfaction with the number of direct and indirect jobs created, especially since the inception of the mass housing programme across the country.

In her remarks, the team leader for the project, Mrs Fashoranti Toyin appealed to the minister to liaise with his counterpart in charge of the federal capital territory to allocate land closer to the city centre for the second phase of the projects.

The three condominiums contained three floors each, consisting of four units of one-bedroom flats, 16 units of two-bedroom flats and four units of three-bedroom flats totalling 24 flats and 72 flats for the three condos.