Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The 12th virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a total contract sum of N5.485 billion for secretariat building in five states and the rehabilitation of lower usuma dam.
The Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola, who briefed State House Correspondents alongside his colleagues in Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, said the five contracts are secretariates in Anambra, Bayelsa, Osun, Nassarawa and Zamfara states. The variation approved is N3.9 billion changing the full contract amount from N13.56 billion to N17.54 billion.
“The buildings are to serve as housing for government staff in those states who have been using rented buildings. These secretariats are necessary to enable us house federal workers in these states. The problem arose from the creation of new states, in assets sharing some of the old states took the whole secretariats, so our staff in those states, across all federal ministries, are either in rented official premises for their work or squatting in state government premises.
“For example, my ministry has controllers in all the 36 states; Controllers for Works, Controllers for Housing. These are some of the people, apart from other ministries who have staff in those states.
“Council approved this variation and the intention is to enable us complete the projects. You might recall I briefed you some time last year about an approval for the award for the furniture, so all the furniture has been completed, they are in the warehouse, so it’s just for us to complete the buildings now and install them.”
Mohammed, the information minister, clarified, “What was approved today is N3.9 billion, not N17 billion. The N17 billion is the total cost of the projects. These projects started since 2011 and many of them have reached completion, like Gombe State. Some are in various stages of completion, money has been paid to a certain level. So all that has been approved today was the variation of N3.9 billion, not N17 billion.
On his part the minister of the FC, Bello said council also aapproved the rehabilitation of the Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant Phase 2 with an additional cost of N1.5 billion bringing the total contract sum to N2.52 billion.The contract is to last 12 months and will provide water for fct residents for the next 30 years.
Bello said, “In the meeting of today, the council approved a very important infrastructure project for the city of Abuja. And that project is the rehabilitation of Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant Phase Two at the sum of N1,510,206,066. And the contract was awarded to a company called Cupero Nigeria Ltd with a completion period of 12 months.
“The contract was originally awarded at N1,017,979,566, the additional sum of N1,510,206,066 approved by FEC, brings the total contract sum to N2,528,187,633.
“The scope of work entails general rehabilitation, repairs of and replacement of electro-mechanical components and laboratory restoration, rehabilitation of chemical and chlorine buildings, and general civil engineering work.
“As you know, water treatment plant is a very important infrastructure project. The contact is to rehabilitate that Treatment Plant which has been in operation for about 30 years. And it fills into Mr President’s agenda of providing needed infrastructure and rehabilitating already existing infrastructure. “By the time it is done, the Water Treatment Plant will continue to provide service to residents of Federal Capital city of Abuja for may be another 30 years to come.”