Barely 18 days to the end of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the Federal Government has approved N459 billion in contracts to consultant firms.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar while defending the spending on Wednesday, said the government is continuous and their regime is yet to be over.
However, our correspondent in this report critically highlights the contracts that gulped the N459 billion, the beneficiary ministries and the companies contracted.
1. Ministry of Transportation, which includes the Nigerian Ports Authority. The contract involves the construction and supply of customised Fire Service search and rescue vans for the extrication of accident victims at the cost of N510,934,600 in Rivers Ports, Port Harcourt, Lagos Port complex, Tin Can Island Port and Marina headquarters in Lagos State.
2. Procurement of rolling stock operation and maintenance equipment for the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail line at the cost of $984,722,392.
3. Construction of 192 flats for personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency at a total cost of N5,157,265,770.
Speaking on the contracts, the transport minister said the construction of the fire service search and rescue vans was awarded to All Works Commercial Company Limited with a completion period of nine months.
He added that the construction of the Kano-Maradi standard gauge rail was contracted to Motor Engine Nigeria Limited with a completion period of four years.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, spoke on the contract award approved for the construction of barracks for personnel of the NDLEA, stressing the need to provide them with security because of the threat from drug criminals.
Malami said, “Accordingly, two contracts were awarded and the companies that were awarded the contract Whitchino Engineering Limited, was awarded the contract for the construction of accommodation for narcotics superintendents and narcotic assistant blocks, each consisting six numbers of three bedrooms, semi-detached flats, 12 flats, and five blocks each, consisting 16 number one bedroom terraces plots, 80 plots total 92 plots at the cost of N2,267,785,450. 83.
“And the second contract was awarded to JP Sigma Nigeria limited in the sum of N2,889,480,320.55 and they are to construct accommodation for narcotics superintendents and narcotics agents, two blocks each consistent six numbers, three bedrooms, semi-detached flats, 12 flats and 11 blocks, each consisting eight numbers two bedrooms, semi-detached flats 89 flats total 12 plus 88 which makes 100 flats,” he maintained.
On his part, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, said his Ministry presented a memo on the revised 2022 National Agricultural Seed Policy to FEC for approval.
He noted that the country had been operating on the 2010 policy, which was revised in 2015 before the latest revision in 2022.
According to him, the revision became necessary because of the need to have improved seeds.
