FEC will ratify infrastructure master plan – Minister

The Minister of National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr Abubakar Suleiman, has said that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will ratify the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) at its meeting on Wednesday.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Abdulrahman Abdulrauf, his Special Assistant on Media, in Abuja yesterday.

He made the disclosure when he visited the Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Lt.-Gen.  Martins Agwai,  in Abuja.

According to him, the NIIMP is a 30-year master plan for accelerating infrastructure development in the country.

“It focuses on core infrastructure, including energy, transport housing, water and ICT.

 “Other infrastructure classes, include agriculture, mining, social infrastructure, vital registration and security,’’ he said.

Suleiman said that the plan had already been ratified by the governors at the last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in August.

The minister said that the visit was to solicit the committee’s assistance in the area of project monitoring and evaluation as well as generating data on victims of insurgency.

He described SURE-P as a government initiative that had restored the hope of Nigerians, and called for easy access of funds for the programme.

The minister said that the commission was also planning to embark on projects inspection, monitoring and evaluation of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

 “Our commission cannot do it alone and that is why we need your collaboration.

“We have goals we seek to achieve as a nation but how do we achieve those goals?  This is where our commission comes in,’’ he said.

In his response, the chairman of SURE-P, expressed delight at the visit, and assured the minister that his request would be considered within the constitutional provisions governing the committee’s mandate. (NAN)