The Minister of Works and Housing (FMWH), Mr Babatunde Fashola, has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to bridging infrastructural gaps in tertiary institutions across the country.
Fashola said this at the handover ceremony of one kilometer road constructed at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozala in Enugu State.
The Director of Press and Public Relations, FMWH, Mrs Boade Akinola, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
The minister, said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was committed to bridging the nation’s infrastructural gap
He said that infrastructure needs in the country were steadily being bridged by a gradual process of repairs and construction and it has reached the tertiary institutions.
Fashola, represented by the Controller of Works, Enugu State, Mr Olufemi Oyekanmi, explained that the intervention by the Federal Government in the development of infrastructure in the tertiary institutions was to boost quality of education.
He added that it also gave students a renewed hope and enthusiasm with regards to attending classes because some defective roads had been restored.
“It is undebatable that the quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment.
“And, those who doubt it should simply listen to some feedbacks from the students of the schools where this type of intervention has taken place,” Fashola said.
The minister noted that a kilometer road network constructed in the teaching hospital was a laudable project as it would ease movement of both students and staff of the institute within the hospital.
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“Though the road may be a civil work project, it is an investment in education and the students are expressing renewed enthusiasm with regards to attending classes because some defective roads have been restored to good condition,” he said.
The minister noted that the project, apart from impacting on the learning environment, had also provided employment opportunities for Nigerians as 40 people were employed in the process contributing to the job creation initiatives of the government.
Earlier in her remark, the Chief Medical Director, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-Ozalla, Dr Obinna Onodugo commended the Federal Government for the road intervention.
Onodugo said it was a good fortune for the institution to have benefitted from the intervention because the government had so many road interventions to attend to across the nation.
He described the road before the intervention as deplorable, pointing out that the road was a death trap before the intervention which no one dared to use at night because of its deplorable condition but now the reverse was the case.
“As a community, we are grateful to be remembered by the Federal Government. Personally, I am very grateful that this is happening in my time and I pray for more of such intervention,” Onudugo said.