Former Lagos governor and minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has announced that work on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway will begin next week.
His counterpart in Information and Culture Ministry, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, assured Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was on track.
They spoke yesterday at the inaugural town hall meeting in Abuja.
The ministers explained that while there was still much work to be done, the administration has the political will, discipline and determination to fulfil its electoral promises and take the country to greater heights.
Other ministers at the event are Ministers of Budget and National Planning Udo Udoma; Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh and Environment Amina Mohammed.
Fashola said government was working on formalities and standards for the smooth implementation of its mass housing plan.
The minister, who lamented the ongoing vandalisation of oil pipelines, expressed the determination of government to deliver on steady power supply.
The information minister hailed Nigerians for their perseverance and patient with the administration.
He added that the Federal Government would not shy away from its electoral promises.
Fashola announced that the first rollout of the 500,000 Social Intervention Scheme of the administration will start tomorrow.
“I believe that my only sin is talking too much before the elections and I now have to pay the price.
“The first one was held in Lagos. Any meaningful assessment must be situated within the right context.
“We campaigned on three broad areas: corruption, revamp the economy and security. Have we met our targets? If you ask me, I will say we are on track.
“When we came in, many local governments in the Northeast were under the control of Boko Haram. They hoisted their flags; they were even collecting taxes. But today, not even a single local government is under the control of Boko Haram.
“We have been able to liberate 16,000 captors from the enclave of Boko Haram,” the minister explained.
Mohammed assured that the change the All Progressives Congress-led (APC) administration promised “is real”.
He said: ‘‘We acknowledge that the nation is passing through a very difficult situation at this time, with the loss of over 60 per cent of our national income due to the crash in the price of crude oil.
‘‘Though Nigeria has faced the challenges of ethno-religious violence, armed robbery, cattle-rustling, kidnapping for ransom, militancy and violent agitations, the most daunting security challenge faced by the country when we assumed office on May 29, 2015, was the Boko Haram insurgency.
‘‘The administration is also tackling other security problems with the same decisiveness, whether is it cattle-rustling, herdsmen/farmers’ clash, militancy and regional agitations.
“We are not only desirous of communicating to Nigerians, we are actually taking practical steps to address issues.’’
The minister of budget and national planning said his ministry had put a mechanism in plac
e to track the efficient implementation of the 2016 budget in tune with the change agenda of the government.
He appealed to Nigerians for patience.
The forum was meant to allow the government to give account of its stewardship to the citizens and also engage directly with them on burning national issues.
The first edition of the town hall meeting was held in Lagos on April 25.
The Federal Government had also held the town hall meeting in Kaduna and Kano.
The next edition is slated for Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Monday.
