VON Director-General-2018 budget will improve South-east infrastructure

The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, says that 2018 Budget is a budget of great hope for infrastructure development in South-East, especially regarding roads and solid mineral sectors.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja presented the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N8.612 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly.

Mr. Okechukwu said in Enugu, that the proposals had a lot of promises for the completion of critical road projects, especially the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge project.

He noted that government allocated 10 million dollars in the 2018 budget for ongoing 2nd Niger Bridge project. The director-general also said that the Federal Government had earlier released 14 billion dollars out of 36.7 billion dollars of the total sum expected from the government for the project.

The money released, he says, represents 30 per cent counterpart fund for the bridge project, adding that the effort clearly showed the commitment of President Buhari’s administration to the aspirations of our people.

The Federal Government’s recent commitment of N16.7 billion from the N100 billion SUKUK bond to the major South-East roads is a clear indication that this administration wants to open-up the zone for more business and human activities,’’ he said. According to him, the budget has promise for the Enugu-Onitsha and Enugu-Port Harcourt roads.

The South-East through the Enugu coal mining and exploration will benefit in no small measures from the N30 billion solid mineral exploration grant of the Federal Government.
All these life-impacting projects have been there, especially in the South-East begging for attention in the past 10 years.’

So, the South-East should know better now know who their real brothers and friends are.
The opposition said it would not be possible; but President Buhari is doing the magic with very limited funds.

Okechukwu said that within the past two years, Nigerians had been able to see huge capital projects undertaken by the Federal Government.

He said the N8.612 trillion budget with the ever strong political-will of Mr President would surely meet the yearnings for diversification of the economy, especially moving from oil to non-oil based economy.

The Mambilla Plateau Power plant is given special allocation as well as strengthening and expanding transmission lines to solve the electricity challenge in the country.”