Determined to ensure speedy completion of the 35 infrastructural projects simultaneously on going in the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State, the State Executive Council has approved 10 percent increase on the projects’ contract sum.
The increment, according to the state’s Commissioner for Information, Dr. Godwin Udeuhele, who briefed journalists after the Council’s meeting, was because of the high inflationary trend occasioned by the current economic downturn in the country.
The Commissioner also stated it was done to ensure speedy completion before the onset of the rainy season.
Udeuhele further disclosed that the Council initiated steps aimed at decongesting prisons located within the state, noting that to accomplish this, the sum of N10m has been approved as honorarium to private lawyers who would take up cases on behalf of prison inmates to facilitate their release.
“The Executive Council has directed that the NBA, NGOs and some private legal practitioners willing to accept honorarium be engaged to handle cases of bail of those awaiting trials. The Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice has also further been directed to liaise with the state’s Chief Judge to conduct periodic jail deliveries,” he said.
Udeuhele equally informed journalists that the Council also approved the
release of the 2013 promotion arrears for teachers employed by the Post Primary School Management Board with financial effect from April 2017, adding that the 2014 promotion arrears would be released with financial effect from September 2017 while that of 2015 will be from December 2017.
He explained that the approval “was sequel to a memo brought to the executive council by the Commissioner for Education pointing out that
post primary school teachers in the state have not been promoted since
2013 and that most are approaching retirement”.
Also approved by the Council was the appointment of an external estate valuer who would be responsible for the identification and valuation of government-owned property in all parts of the state and beyond to stave off any trespass.
The Council further approved the draft bill for a law to amend the Education Law (Cap 37, Laws of Enugu State 2004) and directed that the bill be forwarded to the Enugu State House of Assembly for legislative action.
“The said law has become obsolete and institutions no longer apply it in their system. Besides, the education commission that used this law has been unbundled into three boards,” he said.
