The Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Bola Tinubu, has approved the implementation of road projects in various States of the federation to the tune of about N1,451,700,000.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents on the outcome of the council meeting held at the Council Chambers, Abuja.
The minister spoke against the backdrop of the directive by FEC to step down some projects on July 10 to enable a review.
He said even though some other projects were similarly stepped down in Monday’s session, the council approved several other projects.
“The first one is the rehabilitation of Abeokuta-Iboro-Ilaro Road in Ogun state. It’s a contract of N57bn approved by FEC today for Strabic Construction,” Umahi said.
“The second one is the road from Mubi to Maiduguri Road section three. The contract is approved for a total sum of N89bn and this is an NNPC project; it is being reviewed and approved for N89bn total contract sum and that is for MESSRS Decency Associates Limited.
“Then the third project approved today was Mubi to Maiduguri Section Two. The story about this is that we have sections 1,2,3,4. Section 1 is an ongoing project. Then section 2 was not awarded to a contractor. Section 3 is an ongoing project and then section 4 was awarded to Zephagold. But the governor of Borno state wrote that he is already on this section 4 and the job is about to be completed. So, he requested that we go back to Section 2, where there is no contract ongoing.
“And so, by going back to Section 2, it means that the entire stretch of Mubi will have a stretch of ongoing projects. But this section 2 is also very bad. So, we had to re-procure it on rigid pavement. So the relocation is approved. The relocation was approved for 42km at a contract sum that was awarded before. It’s not increased from N67bn inherited from the past administration.
“And then we have the Natalla-Buru in Kano State. We stepped it down to look for funds. There are no funds for it. So, we stepped it down and we will liaise with the National Assembly (to see) if they will give us funds.
“So, the next one is the Benin-Akure-Ilesha Road, and that’s 150km by two. So, we’re looking at 300km here and the total contracts on this N525bn was awarded to HiTech Construction to use concrete pavements to do it. So it’s been approved.
“Then we have the third one -Benin-Akure, by Ilesha. That’s section 2, and that’s 66km awarded to HiTech Construction. To know that this project has been on in terms of procurements in September 2023. It is part of the supplementary budget but because we didn’t have enough funding, we couldn’t present it but now we have three stretches of funding. And that’s why we are presenting it.
“So, this one is 66km and it is dualised for N286bn in favour of HiTech Construction for concrete technology.
“The next project is Angingali-Udobi-Udona-Umo-Uwana-Ubalaka. And that is in Imo state, and that is a review. It is an NNPC project being reviewed from N14bn to N26.46bn.
“And then you have Ojo-Odum-Okuku Road Benue State is stepped down for review and to be brought back in the next FEC.
“We have another NNPC project and that is the rehabilitation of Aba-Owerri Road, NNPC depot expressway in Abia state, and the project has been reviewed in favour of a rudo Nigeria limited in the sum of N21bn.
“We have another project going from Odukpani Itu in Ikot-Ekpene in Cross Rivers State and it’s being handled by CCECC. This is one of the companies that we are likely to aggregate all their projects across the country and agree with them on milestone completion and how much they can inject while we now agree on payment schedules.
“So, this project has been reviewed from N50bn to N79bn because the terrain is very bad. And we decided to use reinforced concrete pavement to do the two carriageways.
“Then we have the rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt again by CCECC. They had started the project about four years back at the Port Harcourt axis and they’re going towards Aba and the project is revised from N63bn to N83bn in favor of CCECC.
“Then we have Igomu bridge, also an inherited project in a very critical condition, the bearings are gone. You have concrete-to-concrete contact and a part of the bridge was also burnt. So, we had to do a total procurement to rehabilitate it. And it’s a total of 19.87bn in favour of Buildwell Nigeria Limited.
“We have one project in Umuahia to Aba by Arab Contractors, and that is the Aba section which was stepped down to be reviewed. But the project is 85% complete.
“Then we have the last section of the Ikot-Ekpene road from Akwa Ibom and it’s being done by Julius Berger and the project is reviewed from N54bn to N90bn and to be procured and executed in reinforced concrete.
“And we have the Ore-Ondo-Akure Road which is under special intervention due to flooding and that is 24 months duration for a total contract sum of N134bn in favour of CBC Nigeria Limited that will use concrete because of the terrain.
“And lastly, you have the Ofin-Oreta Road, Ikorodu in Lagos state and that project is in favour of GRB for a construction period of 18 months for N27.9bn. That’s all that we got approved for today.”
The council also approved the purchase of 7,887 dialysis consumables to enhance healthcare access for citizens suffering from kidney diseases.
Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Work, Ali Pate, who addressed State House Correspondents, said the approval aimed to address the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
The consumables, he said, would be distributed across seven federal tertiary hospitals, including the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and the National Hospital in Abuja.
Pate emphasised the importance of prevention alongside treatment, highlighting plans for public health screenings and lifestyle modifications to reduce future cases of kidney disease
The other hospitals to benefit from the purchase are Federal Medical Center in Ebuta Metta, Federal Medical Center in Owerri, the National Hospital, Abuja, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, University Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.
“This is in an effort to make the cost of treatment affordable for those who suffer from integral disease through dialysis. It’s a start, but dealing with kidney disease requires not only dialysis but also prevention,” Pate said.
“That’s part of the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure that we prevent cases of hypertension, diabetes that progress to kidney disease. We’re looking at screening so that Nigerians will be able to screen themselves for hypertension, diabetes, but also get the lifestyle modification so that we have less and less people requiring dialysis.
“But for those who are affected, we know that the cost of access to that is a major impediment. This effort by Mr. President is to bring relief within the context of several other policy measures to ensure that Nigerians have access to critical healthcare services. And with this approval, we’ll provide those and I think it will bring relief to many Nigerians and their families for accessing dances, services. They’re very much needed in our country.”
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) also approved three key memos aimed at combating crime and corruption in Nigeria.
He outlined a comprehensive strategy involving investigation, prosecution, and post-conviction processes, emphasizing international cooperation, particularly with Spain, explaining that the agreements would facilitate the exchange of information, assistance in apprehending fugitives, and the transfer of convicted individuals to serve sentences in their home countries.
He said these measures would ensure that criminals do not evade justice, thus reinforcing the government’s commitment to a robust legal framework.
