Members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, embarked on a marathon meeting that saw them approving contracts totalling about N960bn.
The contracts cut across different sectors such as road, aviation, education and transport, among others.
After many hours, the meeting, which started at 11am, was adjourned at about 5.20pm to reconvene on Thursday in order to conclude deliberations.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that the council approved the variation of the contract for the completion of the Police Service Commission headquarters in Abuja in order for the project to be completed in the next six months.
The project, which had an initial cost of N3.486bn was increased to N3.925bn, with a variation of N439.113m.
Fashola stated that the council also approved additional funding for the Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The project was initiated by the last administration.
“Council approved the additional funding to complete it from N1.49bn N1.953bn,” he added.
Fashola said the council approved road projects, which included the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road at the cost of N155.7bn and Efire-Araromi-Aiyede-Aiyela Road to connect Ondo and Ogun states at a cost of N14.4bn.
He said for the Enugu-Onitsha highway, the Amansia section, council approved the variations of the cost of N38.74bn to enable the contractor to progress with the work.
“Council also approved the awarded part at the Umunya at the cost of N23.4bn. So if you add that N38.74bn, which was the cost of the Amansia section, you will get a total approved cost of N62.06bn.
“This contract was first awarded for N24bn in 2014 but the scale of work done is, to say the least, appalling,” he said.
Fashola said council also approved money for the intervention in education and health care.
FEC, he disclosed, approved the provision of independent power plants to nine universities and one teaching hospital in the first phase of the pilot programme to cover 37 universities at the cost of N38.965bn.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the council approved the production and distribution of core textbooks for early education classes 1-3 and for primary 4-6 in public schools nationwide.
He said the government felt there was the need to support the funding of education at the cost of N6.9bn.
According to the minister, the council also approved two vessels for the Eastern Port at the cost of N1.2bn.
The council also approved the award of contract for direct procurement, installation and commissioning of Wide Area of multilateration for the Gulf of Guinea at the cost of N3.9bn.
There was also an approval for consultancy services for the construction of a new terminal building at Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, Kano.
The minister said there was a plan to complete the payment with N621m.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, said the council approved the completion of the Goodluck Jonathan Way with an augmentation of an additional N3.8bn.
Bello said the FEC also approved infrastructure development of Wasa Resettlement Site at the cost of N26bn.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suliaman Adamu, said the council ratified augmentation of funds to complete Adada dam, Igbo-Atiti LGA in Enugu State.
He said, “The project started in 2010. It has been augmented and council approved that the project be completed now at N5.6bn by the end of 2018.
“Council also approved the augmentation of Phase II Galma Dam and irrigation project in Kaduna and Zaria. The purpose of the dam is to provide water to Zaria and environs.
“The Phase I Dam has already been completed while Phase II involves irrigation and some additional structures. So, there was an augmentation to raise the project to N16.5bn.
“Council also approved the review of construction fee for the Uguashi-Uku Dam project in Delta State.
“The project is almost 100 per cent completed but because of the extension of time over the years, we have to ratify the need to pay consultants for staying on site to oversee that project. So council approved the sum of N133.6m,” he stated.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement after the meeting, said the government was considering increasing the scope of work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to, possibly, N300bn.
“This road project comes at a time when the administration has increased the pace of the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and is considering increasing the scope of work on it by, possibly, up to N300bn; the East-West Road, Port Harcourt to Lagos and is pumping money into the realisation of the Second Niger bridge,” the presidential spokesman said.
He quoted Fashola as briefing the council that 63 roads were identified in 34 states for construction, repair and rehabilitation.
He said the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project would be funded from 2017 and 2018 appropriations with additional provisions being made in the subsequent years’ appropriations covering the lifespan of the project.
This notwithstanding, he said the council had directed that the Ministers of Finance and that of Power, Works and Housing to meet and raise the money for its completion within the stated three years to avoid the fate that befell the East-West Road.
Meanwhile, the extra-ordinary meeting of FEC presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari will continue on Thursday.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, stated this on Wednesday.
Shehu, who made this known in Abuja on Wednesday, said the meeting was extended to Thursday to enable the council deliberate and take decisions on pending issues.
According to him, the Federal Government plans to make Nigerians happy by providing tangible and meaningful projects to uplift their quality of life.
President Buhari had swore-in the remaining seven permanent Secretaries out of the 22 appointed earlier in the year.
The inauguration preceded the Council’s meeting and had the cabinet members and serving permanent secretaries as well as some guests of the new officials in attendance.
The President did not deliver any inauguration address after the signing of the inauguration register as the FEC meeting progressed afterwards.
Those sworn in are: Mr Mustapha Suleiman (Kano); Mr Adekunle Adeyemi (Oyo); Mrs Comfort Ekaro (Rivers) Mr Adebayo Akpata (Ekiti).
Others are Dr Abdulkadir Muazu(Kaduna); Mr Marcelinus Osuji (Imo) and Mr Bitrus Nabasu (Plateau).
