President Muhammad Buhari has formally presented the 2021 Budget Proposal to the leadership and members of Nigeria’s National Assembly, saying his administration has implemented several priority projects in the year 2020.
During his address at the presentation, the President added that his administration has made much progress in the implementation of its programmes, especially with regards to items in the preceding years’ budgets.
“Agriculture has recorded appreciable success in rice and other crops mainly through the Anchor Borrowers Programme and the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, anchored by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, respectively.”, said the President.
According to the President, his administration has also pursued the construction of 337 rural roads around key agricultural corridors in the country, to enhance access to market and reduce post-harvest losses.
“These efforts have reduced the adverse impact of Coronavirus on our food availability, prices and security.
“We have made progress on the railway projects connecting different parts of the country. The Lagos-Ibadan Line will soon be operational.
“The Abuja-Kaduna Line is running efficiently while the Itakpe-Ajaokuta Line was finally completed after over 30 years since it was initiated and commissioned in September 2020.
Furthermore, according to the President, efforts are underway to complete work on the the Ibadan-Kano Line, while work will soon commence on the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Line and Calabar-Lagos Coastal Lines, which will connect the Southern and Eastern States to the North, and the South-South as well as South-East to the North, and South-West, respectively.
Said Buhari: “The Second Niger Bridge is at about 46 percent completion. We hope to commission the project before the end of our tenure in 2023.
“We have awarded several contracts to rehabilitate, reconstruct and construct major arterial roads to reduce the hardship to commuters and increase economic activity.
“To bridge the infrastructure deficit, we are also implementing innovative financing strategies to pull-in private sector investment.
“The Infrastructure Company, which I recently approved, will become a world-class infrastructure development vehicle, wholly focused on making critical infrastructure investments in Nigeria.