TheCable

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, says the federal government has signed financial agreement for the execution of Lagos-Abidjan highway.

NAN reports that Olusegun Ogunkayode, senior information officer in the ministry, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Fashola made this known at the ninth steering committee and experts meeting of the Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway Development Programme.

The minister said the signing of the financial agreement was a demonstration of the federal government’s commitment to the realisation of the project.

Fashola said road development was crucial to the economic growth of any nation, adding that the meeting was important considering the need for West African countries to join the league of developed nations.

According to him, West African countries must emulate South American and Asia countries, who have used road development to drive their economies.

He said the Lagos-Abidjan corridor would propel rapid integration of the region, boost commercial activities, improve social development, create employment windows and reduce social vices among the member states.

At the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, had appealed to both institutions to finance a highway from Lagos to Senegal saying it would boost economic activities.