A total of N311.8 billion has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the construction and rehabilitation of two link roads connecting the Second Niger Bridge in the South East and other projects being executed at the University of Abuja.
[READ MORE: FEC approves VAT increase of 7.5%, targets N7.5 trillion revenue]
The roads meant to be covered according to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, are the Ibadan-Ilesa-Ife road, the Second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha and phase II of the Kano-Katsina highway.
According to the Memorandum, N79.82 billion goes to the Ibadan-Ilesa-Ife road, N200.176 billion to the roads linking to the second Niger Bridge while N29.654 billion will be appropriated for phase II of the Kano-Katsina highway.
Apart from the money approved for the construction of roads, an additional N1.833 billion has been approved by the FEC under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for programmes in the Ministry of Education.
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, confirmed the N1.833 billion contracts. Nwajiuba said that N915 million was approved for the construction of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Abuja, while N918 million was to build the Faculty of Education of the same institution.
He also said that the TETFUND intervention programme was awarded in 2017.
[READ ALSO: How Federal Government plans to increase VAT to 7.5% affects you]
Nwajiuba’s words: “The memorandum approved was in respect of TETFUND intervention programme in respect of the University of Abuja. A key component of that was the award of contract at the sum of N915 million for the construction of the Faculty of Environment.
“Another was also approved for the sum of N918 million to build the Faculty of Education. Those are the two components arising from the special intervention programme that was awarded than in 2017. So, we have to act to give effect to them so that they can proceed with the delivery.”