The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved a total of N386.75 billion for a range of projects for the federal ministries of Power, Police Affairs, Environment, Works and Housing, and Transportation.
The various ministers made public each document that had been approved by the council, along with the corresponding sums set aside for the projects, following this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting, which was presided over by President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
The council approved a note for the deployment of an alternate power supply to line to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, which, according to the minister of electricity, had been cut off from the national grid for 24 months owing to insurgency.
“I presented three memos to council which have been approved and the memos as follows. One is to have an alternative supply line for of electricity for Maiduguri through 33 KV line along the road site. Maiduguri got disconnected due to the activities of insurgents and have been disconnected from the national grid for around 24 months.
“So, we are now trying to supply through another new line. What this memo seeks to achieve is a double cycle 33KV which will take up to around 14megawatts to Maiduguri from the Damaturu 330 substation. And the reason is that the 33KV line will be easier to restore even if something affects it because it is by the roadside and it is on concrete poles or wooden poles.
“So this memo still goes on to provide the 33 line alternative double circuit at a cost of N3,164,293,880 plus N250m for security and other logistics, a total of N3.4bn naira and is awarded to SodoGuru Nigeria Limited with a completion period of three months.
“The second one seeks to provide substations one Geidam in Yobe State and the other one in Zing in Taraba State. These are all local government headquarters. Geiden is a local government headquarters at the border to Niger and our intention is to provide substations 1-3-2 substations in each of the local government across the country.
“The project substation at Zing will cost $12,352,896.24 with a Naira component of N2,701,805,061.34 at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of payment.
“The Geidam project will cost $11,629,824.81 with Naira component of N2,641,257,634.84. Both projects have a completion period of 24 months.
“A third memo presented by the ministry has five substations and one-line construction.”
According to Aliyu, “The first among the six is to provide a substation of two by 60MVA in Birnin Kudu in Jigawa State cost of $13,438,265.40 plus naira component of N2,969,365,195.15 with a completion period of 24 months.
“The second one is to provide same in Kazaure at the cost of $14,389,822.22 with naira component of N2,245,456,369,309.68 at 24-month delivery period.
“The third one is at Nguru in Yobe State which is also same capacity of substation. As ditto at $12,420,300.13 plus naira component of N3,408,878,700.24 with completion period of 24 months.
“The fourth one is at Barbura the same substitution at $19,636,889.80 plus naira component of N5,656,558,494.91 with 24 month completion period.
“The fifth one is a 60KVA at Oro substation, in Irepodun Local Government of Kwara State at $8,147,234.31 plus Naira component of N3,557,642,765.64 with the same completion period of 24 months.
“The last is the 222 kilometre 1-3-2 transmission line from Birnin Kudu, passing through Gwaram, Missau, Ningi and Azare in Jigawa to Bauchi State, at $25,850,704.14 plus Naira component of N9,473,666,386.54. The contractor is Chris Egik International Agencies Limited with completion period of 24 months.”
A group life insurance plan for 318,319 members of the Nigerian Police Force was approved by the council, according to Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Police Affairs.
He claimed that the agreement covers the hiring of underwriters and brokers for life insurance and is valid from October 26, 2022, through October 26, 2023.
Leadway Assurance Plc is one of the underwriters, serving as the lead underwriter, along with three other underwriters.
To “encourage the officers and individuals working to ensure the security of life and property,” and to “allow them to do more,” according to Dingyadi, the action is being taken. Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, revealed that the council had accepted four memos from his department.
They include; the award of the section one of the Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora highway in favour of a joint venture, DeValco HMF Construction in the some of it is N87.40bn to be funded as previously approved in 2021 under the Tax Credit Scheme.
The second was presented on behalf of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency for the award of contract for the construction of the Iseri North Road in Lagos that connects Ogun State.
The contract was approved in favour of MSSRS Acute Option Limited with a contract price is N2,104,483,739.
The third approval was with respect to an existing contract, whose prices have had to be augmented because of changes in cost of materials inflation and variation of prices, and also to accommodate changes in the fiscal policy between when the project was first awarded in 2014.
Fashola said the contract received an approval for augmentation of an additional N45,829,989,605.
The final approval from the Ministry of Works was with respect to the pension payments for members of staff of the now defunct Federal Mortgage Finance Limited. This stood at N4,774,517,205 with an additional N41.96m.
Mu’azu Sambo, the minister of transportation, disclosed that four significant projects and concessions had been approved by his department. They include the N1,787,203,792.65 upgrade contract for the National Ports Authority Data Center with 7.5 percent V.A.T.
The second, according to Sambo, was a 20-year concession based on a public-private partnership for the development of an offshore garbage reception facility in the eastern zone. He stated MSSRS Expo Marine Limited, who will be the only investors in the project, had been given a “no-cure, no-pay” 10-year concession for the eastern zone.
According to Sambo, the factory will produce around $755 million over those two decades. The Federal Government, the Nigerian Maritime Administration, and the Safety Agency would each receive a portion of the earnings.
