Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has received a sovereign Sukuk Symbolic Cheque of N162.557 billion for the construction of roads across the country.
Fashola was presented with the cheque on Monday in Abuja by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.
She said one of the key pillars of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan was the development of critical infrastructure projects with a view to removing the impediments to growth and development in the economy.
“As a result, Mr President has priotised capital expenditure on the development of roads, rails, power and agriculture projects.
“The Debt Management Office (DMO) has raised the sum of N162.557 billion from investors in June 2020. This is strictly dedicated to the financing of road projects in the Revised 2020 Appropriation Act.
“It also means that with the release of N162.557 billion to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, the amount appropriated for Road Projects in 2020 Budget has been fully released.
She said with the deployment of sukuk funds coupled with other capital releases and various interventions by government, the economy would soon be on the path to economic development.
Mr Babatunde Fashola, in his presentation, said the people who put money in the sukuk were fund managers and the owners of the funds, adding that it was a matter of trust which they had for the administration that made them release their hard earned money.
