The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has said that the FCT Administration (FCTA) will require a total of N21.029 billion to finish the current refurbishment of the National Assembly complex.
This was disclosed by Bello during an oversight visit to the FCTA by the Senate Committee on FCT. He stated that ITB Nigeria Ltd completed the National Assembly Phase II project, also known as the “White House,” from 1996 to 1999, and that no substantial repair work has been done since then.
According to Bello, the contract which was awarded on December 30, 2021, is to be completed in 16 months at the sum of N30,229,290,830.35, and the amount paid as of this Thursday stood at N9,200,000, 000.
“The commencement date is April 16 and the project is expected to be completed August 15, 2023,” Bello said while listing some other priority projects embarked upon by the Administration including rehabilitation of the Federal Secretariat complex, and construction of a southern parkway from the National Christian Center to Ring Road.
Others he said were rehabilitation of the expansion of the Outer Southern Expressway, provision of engineering infrastructure for Wuye District, rehabilitation and expansion of Outer Southern Expressway Villa Roundabout and completion of B6, B12 and Circle Road in the Central Area. He explained that the ministry gave priority to some projects in the city over others due to scarcity of funds.
“What we did was because of the scarcity of funds, we prioritised key infrastructure projects to get them completed.
“And in deciding the ones that fit into that category, we looked at the ones that will give the maximum benefit to the maximum number of people.
“All the four projects we visited, you find that they are all road projects that are meant to link one section of Abuja city to another and that is the whole idea.
“The master plan has been designed in such a way that they complement each other.
“So if you finish one portion and you don’t do the other one, then you don’t get the full utility of that particular road, ” Bello added.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Tolu Odebiyi, who led the committee members on the oversight visit, said: “what we have seen is quite impressive.
“We believe that in the twilight of this administration, in the next months, it is important we catalogue all the projects that are being done and prioritise the ones that must be completed before the end of this term.
“This is so that we can also make sure we provide the adequate funding and budget for it.
“Their budget is going to be forwarded to us very shortly and it is important we come and see the state of the work and the completion rate of the programme before we take them on,” Odebiyi said, adding that the Senate will ensure all priority projects are given due attention.
