The Group Managing Director, CFL Group of Companies, Engr. Lai Omotola has taken a dim view of the ability of Babatunde Fashola to handle the three most essential infrastructural sectors of the country.
Speaking during the annual press conference of CFL Group in the company’s corporate office in Maryland Lagos, Omotola said it is not ideal to handle those key areas to somebody who is a lawyer, adding that the Minister, so far has Just been embarking on projects that smack of political sentiments.
According to the real estate expert, Fashola has recorded failure in the area of housing, alleging that the Minister has not been able to embark on major housing projects that would be felt by the people.
He also said that Fashola lacks proper ideas on how housing system works, most especially in Nigeria’s clime. Citing Ilubirin housing estate as an example, Omotola faulted the location and the entire planning of the estate.
Omotola said: “Development of housing system is in two ways which Fashola doesn’t know; they are social and investment purposes. You have to locate the one that is meant for social and the one that suites investment plan, which will be in conjunction with private sector through a system known as Public Private Partnership, PPP.
“The one for investment can be located in Banana Island Lagos, while the social one can be cited in Ikorodu. That is where Fashola missed it.,” .he said.
He stated that the minister can embark on mass housing system without spending much of Government money, adding It could be achieved with proper synergy with Federal Mortgage Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, the ministry of housing, and Organized Private Sectors
Lending his voice on the issue of electricity, Omotola noted that Fashola has recorded some success in the area of power generation.
He however berated the power distribution companies, Discos, stating that they remain the most fraudulent in the power chain considering the sly and ineffective ways they operate. He said they are so blinkered by profit that they care less about quality service.
“In this estate for example, we had to purchase transformers, cables, conductors and so on. The Discos are just there to only make money, with little or no interests in the consumers,” Omotola alleged.
