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| Babatunde Fashola said Nigeria is a poor country during his ministerial screening yesterday. |
If you are a Nigerian, chances are high that you are one of those harboring the belief that Nigeria is a rich country. But Fashola who was Nigeria's former minister of power, works and housing, and one of few to make Buhari's 'next level' cabinet, begs to differ saying the country is poor contrary to the belief of many Nigerians.
The former governor of Lagos State, said no ministry under the Buhari administration lived up to expectations due to lack of sufficient funding as captured in the budget, but that the various ministries had in the last four years, tried as much as possible to leave a mark.
He said, "No ministry in the last four years received all the resources in its budget. Contrary to what Nigerians were made to believe, Nigeria is not yet a rich country. It is simply overrated."
The former governor said without adequate funding, there's just no way the country can develop its infrastructure. He however, suggested the need to explore other means of funding such as setting up of an Infrastructure Bond to the tune of N10 trillion, which Nigerians could subscribe to as shareholders for critical infrastructure in the country.
However, despite the challenges pointed out by the former Lagos State governor, he seemed confident of his performance saying he and his team were able to leave the power, works and housing sectors better than they met it in 2015. Not that many Nigerians will attest to his claims though.
