The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has
hailed his colleague in the Ministry of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for initiating the Town Hall Meeting Series
which, he said, has revolutionized the way government communicates
with its citizens.
Mr. Fashola made the remarks at the Special Town Hall meeting on
infrastructure in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday.
“Let me commend the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture for
inaugurating these series of town hall meetings that have been held
across Nigeria over the past three years and the details have already
been provided in his brief. This is the fourteenth (edition).
“What is instructive first is that it has changed the way the
government of Nigeria communicates with its citizens,” he said.
Mr. Fashola said unlike the way the government communicated with its
citizens in the past, Alhaji Mohammed takes cabinet ministers to meet
and share ideals with the people, a practice that provides a feedback
mechanism.
“So how did government talk to you before? On NTA, that’s all, and
then when election is coming. About three months to election, they
rushed to town hall meetings. But what did Alhaji Lai Mohammed do? He
said let’s go out communicating because we made promises to these
people and we must brief them from time to time,” he said.
While reeling out the achievements of the government, particularly in
the area of roads, Mr. Fashola said the present administration has 68
road contracts in the South West alone, and that 36 power projects are
currently ongoing in the geo-political zone under the Transmission
Company of Nigeria.
In his address of welcome, the Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the town hall meeting in Ibadan on
infrastructure is the second in a series of special town hall meetings
aimed at showcasing the achievements of the Buhari Administration.
“The first edition of the Special Town Hall Meetings was held in
Gusau, Zamfara State, on 10 Sept. 2018, to showcase the
Administration’s achievements in the area of security, in particular
the drastic reduction in the number of killings in certain parts of
the country,” he said.
The Minister said the Buhari Administration has made a massive
investment in infrastructure in order to fast-track the pace of
development.
“Whether in the area of job creation or stimulation of economic
growth, investment in infrastructure is a fast route to development..
We are in no doubt that the solid foundation that we are laying in the
area of infrastructure will be a
catalyst to the much-needed economic development in our dear country,” he said.
The town hall meeting was also attended by host Governor Abiola
Ajimobi, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi; and the Minister
of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, among a host of dignitaries.