The Federal Government led by President Buhari has given its approval for the allocation of N52.97bn towards a range of projects in the ministries of Education, Works and Housing, and Aviation. The decision was made known on Wednesday in Abuja.
Read Also Court orders relocation of Ebonyi election petition tribunal to Abuja
The State House Correspondents were informed by the respective ministers during this week’s Federal Executive Council Meeting, which was chaired by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Council Chambers of the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Read Also Peter Obi lambasts INEC says commission is biased
The Nigerian government has announced the completion of several infrastructure projects across the country. These include the Phase 2 completion of the 2.6km-long Uto Bridge in Ikenke, Delta State, the National Library of Nigeria headquarters building complex in Abuja, and the procurement and installation of radar signalling equipment in nine airports nationwide.
Pay Attention To Anambra Police speaks on the kidnap of Catholic priest, makes strong revelation
According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohamed, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, a memo was presented seeking approval for a revised estimated total cost of a contract for the completion of Phase 2 of Uto Bridge, which is a 2.6-kilometer stretch located in Ikenke, Delta State.
Despite being awarded in 2006, the project remains a top priority and the team is fully committed to seeing it through to completion. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has granted approval for the sum of N1.398bn to revise the contract from N4.44bn to N5.84bn, inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT. The aim is to ensure that the project is completed before the end of the current administration.
The Minister of Works has granted approval for the ongoing bypass along the Lagos-Ibadan motorway. However, what’s noteworthy about this project is the announcement that the Kano-Zaria 137 kilometre and the Zaria-Kaduna 73 kilometres will be handed over on May 15.
According to Mohammed, the Second Niger Bridge and the 116km Lagos-Ibadan motorway, complete with toll gates, are set to be delivered on April 30th.
The Loko-Oweto Bridge and Ikom Bridge have both been completed, according to recent reports. According to the official, the Federal Secretariats located in Nasarawa, Awka, Bayelsa, and Zamfara States have been completed. Additionally, the Zuba housing project, which consists of 700 apartments, is also ready for commissioning.
The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah, has announced that the Council has approved a memo regarding the revised estimated contract cost for the completion of the National Library of Nigeria headquarters building complex in Abuja.
According to recent reports, the estimated cost has been revised to N32.4bn. The Reynolds Construction Company Limited was awarded a contract in 2006, which has undergone several revisions. However, in 2017, the company presented a request for a variation amounting to N78bn, which was deemed unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Education.
An ad hoc committee comprising of technical stakeholders has been established to scrutinise the variation. Following a thorough evaluation, the contractor found the revised cost of N49.6bn to be satisfactory. According to him, prior to that time, a sum of approximately N11.9bn had already been accrued from previous certificates.
A new construction project is underway, which will consist of a concrete structure spanning 11 floors, including two basement floors and eight upper floors. The building will house a variety of amenities, including a bookstore, locker rooms, bindery, printing press, restaurants, clinic, changing rooms, exhibition halls, auditorium, cataloguing, general reference areas, legal deposits and an office for the administration book stacks.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has announced that the Council has approved a whopping N1.97bn for the procurement, installation and commissioning of quadrac voice and data/radar signals recording solutions in nine airports across the country. The airports include Abuja, Akure, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Ibadan, Jos, Sokoto, Yola and Enugu. Additionally, the Council has also approved the supply and installation of five units of Eastmage liquid explosive detector machines for the Kano, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu airports. Both of the projects have a deadline of 12 months for completion. According to Sirika, the Council has given its approval for the bilateral air service agreement between Nigeria and South Africa.
According to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, the Council has given its approval for the construction of a 10-storey office complex for the ministry in Abuja’s cadastral zone.
As per his statement, the FCT administration has designated a land area of 1.84 hectares for the said purpose.
According to Abubakar, the plot has already been fenced and construction will begin promptly. The organisation aims to secure additional funding from various sources and potentially receive support from the presidency in the future.
