Out-going Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said there is no limit to the power of out-going President Muhammadu Buhari can borrow and award contracts until his tenure expires on midnight of May 28.
President Buhari on two occasions has asked the Senate to approve loans and payments even as the days thin out to May 29, the day he will hand over to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Speaking while in Ondo State to flag off reconstruction of the Akure-Ado highway, Fashola reiterated that Buhari was still in power and the government must continue.
“People are asking why we are still awarding contracts when we have just a few days to go. Should we stop this road now and wait for the next government? It is a juvenile conversation. They forgot, among other things, that the term of this administration ends at midnight on May 28.
On the road project in Akure he added: “There were suggestions that we should asphalt and rehabilitate the road, and I said no, that we will dualize the road and we are going to reconstruct. Before we could do that, we had to first do the design, which took some time. But many were ignorant about this. It is not as easy as it looks.
“The road will cost $90 billion. You want the road, and you will say that Buhari is borrowing too much money. This road is not funded by debt but through tax credits.
“We will be leaving the sustainable development goal because, whether we are in office or not, this road will be completed.”