The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N38.4 billion for the completion of inherited road projects in five states of the federation.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola in a press briefing with State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
What the Minister said
The Minister revealed that the states where the projects would be carried out include Benue, Bayelsa, Anambra, Imo and Nasarawa, citing the projects were inherited from past administrations.
“They are not new projects, they are projects that we inherited and we are trying to complete. So essentially they relate to cost revision because of the ages of the contracts and the prices of goods that have changed.
“The first one was the contract for a 13.5km spur of road from Onitsha-Owerri road through Okija-Ihembosi-For Ugbor to Ezinifite in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra.
“That contract was awarded in 2011 but wasn’t funded until this administration came in so the contractor is asking us to revise the contract by a review of N488, 980, 891 and an additional completion period of six months and the council approved that review of price and the extended completion period,” he said.
He added that the second one is the 20-kilometre dualization of Yenagoa road junction to Kolo and Otuoke and Bayelsa Palm in Bayelsa State, which was initially awarded in December 2014 on the eve of the tenure of the last administration and couldn’t even take off because of militancy issues at the time and also very limited budget provisions.
“It is one of the contracts that we have since activated with the Sukuk Bond.
“So, the dualization is progressing but there is some additional work that needs to be done. There are also results of further investigations that support a revision of the contract by N7.947 billion and this was approved by the council,” he said.
Fashola revealed the third contract was for the completion of a road linking Nasarawa and Benue States, stating the area is the 74 kilometre Nasarawa to Loko Road, which was initially awarded in 2006.
He stated that the road links the Loko-Oweto Bridge, which the FG inherited and completed, adding that the Loko-Oweto Bridge links Nasarawa to Benue, across the River Benue and also connects to the Oweto to Oshogbedo Road, which was also inherited and then completed.
“So, what we’ve proposed was that instead of going through the long process of termination and all of that, we proposed and Council agreed that the contractor who finished the bridge and the contractor who finished the road, because they were all awarded to different contractors before we came, should join this contractor and take up the remainder.
Lets hope they use the money judiciously. Otherwise someone will just pocket it.