The National Council on Infrastructure has approved the draft work plan of its Technical Working Group, TWG, for implementation.
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba disclosed this in a tweet on his Twitter handle.
Agba said the approval given on Thursday at the the inaugural meeting of the National Council on Infrastructure, chaired by His Excellency, Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, GCON.
He said that the council was expected to serve as an advisor to the government on infrastructure policy matters and provide links between the public and private sectors.
The minister said that at the meeting, he presented an overview of the establishment of the Council, the Reviewed National Infrastructure Implementation Master Plan (NIIMP) and highlights of priority projects.
Recall that on October 24, this year, Agba restated he commitment of the Federal Government towards closing the infrastructure gaps in the country.
He did that while addressing the inaugural meeting of the Technical Working Group, TWG, of the National Council on Infrastructure in Abuja.
He said the government was determined to addressing the infrastructure gaps across the country by ensuring consistent budgetary allocations for capital projects at 30 per cent in the annual budget since 2016 “and to this effect, the National Infrastructure stock has increased from 25% in 2014 to at least 35% in 2020.”
Agba also disclosed that public investment in both core and non-core infrastructure had substantially increased, particularly public investments in Road, Railway, Power, Aviation, Broadband, Housing and Regional Development infrastructure which had all been prioritized by this administration.
He however noted that “there’s a need to do more which has necessitated the inauguration of the National Council on Infrastructure along with its TWG, to essentially bring together stakeholders from MDAs and private sector organizations in order to fast track delivery of priority projects and programmes in line with key national policy thrust of the government.”
The minister explained that Council and its TWG as encapsulated in the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan document recognized the important roles of key stakeholders, specialized MDAs and private sector organization for their relevance in the sustainable implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, both in the short and long terms.
He said following President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval for the constitution of the National Council on Infrastructure and its inauguration under the Chairmanship of His Excellency, Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo on 23rd August, 2022, “it therefore becomes imperative to constitute as well as inaugurate the TWG as a working arm to advise on all infrastructure related matters.”
According to him, “the TWG is also expected to provide policy guidance to the Council towards driving sustainable implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan,” adding that “It is in this regards that today’s event is crucial to the achievement, landmark and taking overall plans of the NIIMP.”
He said that although the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the TWG appeared limited, its overall task was quite enormous in terms of its implementation strategies.
“The National Council on Infrastructure will create a model for National Infrastructure Advisory Council as stipulated in it’s mandate; more specifically, to political commitments towards increased funding for infrastructure development in Nigeria,” he added.
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