FEC okays additional N500m for completion of 18.7km road in Delta

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved an additional N500 million as a variation for the completion of 18.7 kilometres Bulu-Oriagbene road in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.

The meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja also approved the request by the University of Ibadan (UI) to purchase a microscope at the sum of N190 million.

Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, who briefed correspondents after the council meeting, said the construction of the road is a project of the Niger-Delta Ministry, which has already attained 97 per cent completion.

Akpabio explained: “The Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs presented two memos today at the Federal Executive Council and both were approved. One was just augmentation or a variation of the contract for the construction of Bulu-Oriagbene road in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.

“The road is about 18.7 kilometres and the initial contract price was about N8.5 billion and with the variation price today, the contract price is now about N9 billion and the Federal Executive Council today approved that variation.”

He added that the contractors have been given six months to complete the project.

Akpabio also disclosed that the council similarly approved the floating of a digital platform where projects executed by his ministry can be monitored at all times.

He further said: “The second memo I presented was on what we call Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP), for the Niger Delta region. The intension here is to have a web-based monitoring system, an e-portal where all the agencies under us and development partners as well as non-governmental organisations including states and local governments that are involved in implementing projects in the Niger Delta region, we will have all their projects keyed into that portal.

“This is to ensure that at the touch of the button you can see what each company, state or local government or international organisation is doing as they add value to the Niger Delta region.”

He noted that the reason for introducing the portal is to help in coordination and also prevent duplication of projects.

The minister stated that the ministry has so far completed 50 projects that are now awaiting inauguration, which was delayed by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also speaking, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, FEC passed a resolution granting the request of the University of Ibadan to acquire a new microscope.

He said this is in continuation of the efforts of the Federal Government to revitalise and repurpose the education sector.

He explained: “This is a microscope which is totally directed at enhancing whatever material, looking at the nuclear composition of its molecular nature.

“This is in our premier university. Like you all understand that the Department of Anatomy has been at the forefront of this coordinate research in Nigeria for many years since its inception in 1948. The first of such equipment was given to us in 1967 by the Japanese government, but it has become obsolete. And the federal government has had the opportunity to review many of the requests from the university authorities, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). It was then agreed in the NEEDS assessment report.

“The replacement of these kinds of equipment falls into the fulcrum of what the NEEDS assessment report asked that we do.

“So, the request by the University of Ibadan has been approved so that we can stop spending the kind of money we spend sending PhD and further research students abroad on the basis of the lack of this particular equipment.

“So, the government is looking at this proactively in the sense that it will stem the amount of money we send abroad, and how much time our people spend. And if the University of Ibadan is empowered to do this, and acquires this equipment, it will become the fulcrum for many other research faculties around the country since we will now have this Institute in the country.

“Everybody will be able to access it, including those from neighbouring West African countries.

“Our experience while at TETFUND showed that many of the research requests had to do with the non-availability of particular targeted equipment in the country and the federal government in his holistic attempt to address both its economic and social values as well as upgrade our educational targets, then approves this to be able to address all that.

“The cost at the moment is only N190,552,000. N190 million will be made available by the federal government and the University of Ibadan will be adding N552,000 as their own counterpart fund from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Within 16 weeks (four months), we will have this equipment in the country.”

On his part, Minister of Power, Mamman Saleh, said the council approved the construction of three sub-stations, two in Kano State and one in Benue State.

He said it also approved the extension of transmission lines in Umuahia, Abia State and Mbano, Imo State.

Saleh said the cost for the extension of transmission lines in Abia and Imo States is $506,324.40 plus N34,034,000 local content.

Speaking further, he said the amount for the construction of three sub-stations in Zaki-Biam, Benue State and Bichi and Kanyi, Kano State – the one in Zaki-Biam is $8.6 million while the local content is N2.08 billion. The second one in Bichi is $9.6 million-plus N1.7 billion local content. The one in Kanyi, Kano State is $9.5 million-plus N1.7 billion.

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FEC okays additional N500m for completion of 18.7km road in Delta

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FEC okays additional N500m for completion of 18.7km road in Delta