The first in the series of the Federal Government town hall meetings held on Monday in Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial city.
The meeting is expected to hold in six geo-political zones and two other cities, Abuja and Kano. It is an interaction between the government and persons from different sectors of the economy.
At the Lagos meeting, President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers talked to artisans, traditional rulers, students and a cross-section of the public. Those in attendance were the Information Minister, Mr Lai Mohammed, that of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah; and Minister for Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi. During his presentation, Fashola told the gathering that the 5,000 megawatts of electricity currently being generated was inadequate to address the nation’s power problems. The Power minister, however, said that the problems could be surmounted. On his part, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Enelamah, said that the follow up on the China trip embarked on by the President would be very intense and that the President had given his cabinet the mandate to deliver.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Kachikwu, said that the Buhari-led government had reduced a lot of excesses within the oil and gas sector and close to ending the era of subsidy payments while making sure the refineries would commence production shortly. The minister, however, appealed to Nigerians to be patient and hopeful, as he believes a lot is being done.
