FCT: FG to rehabilitate Abuja federal secretariat with N8.1bn

THE Federal Government has approved N8.1bn for the rehabilitation of the Federal Secretariat, Phase I, in Abuja.

The decision was taken today at the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.

The secretariat, located in the Three Arms Zone, was inaugurated about 28 years ago.
Reacting to the development, the minister, who described what will be done to the multi-storey complex as “massive rehabilitation,” said the project would gulp over N8billion.

He said, “The third memorandum is for the rehabilitation of Phase I of the Federal Secretariat which involves electro-mechanical systems, water systems as well as other general rehabilitation.

“This is a secretariat that was inaugurated in 1993, quite a long time ago. So, we are doing massive rehabilitation of that at a total sum of N8,110,665, 676.76 and the completion period is 24 months.”

Bello noted that the council also approved funds for other projects at the meeting.

According to him, one of the projects is the revision of the contracts for the rehabilitation and expansion of the outer Southern Express Way to Ring Road I in the FCT at a varied contract cost of N15,125,122, 967.

Other projects approved by the council include those for the total overhaul of a 1500 KVA generating plant for the Abuja Environmental Protection Board at the cost of N110 million; an upward review of contract sum for the extension of the inner Southern Express Way in the sum of N47.6bn as well as the review of the consultancy provision for the Independence and Constitution Avenue in the Central Business District of Abuja, at the cost of N131.4m.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouk, on her part said the council approved N922.8m for the purchase of fertilizer to assist states affected by insurgency and the 2018 flood disaster. She listed the benefitting states as Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

“Initially, we were supposed to give the NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer, but now, we are going to provide the liquid fertilizer to the benefiting states and the quantity is about 259,000 litres of that particular product,” the minister said.

The Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, said the council approved the procurement of four 150 NBA 331 3233 power transformers for Transmission Company of Nigeria.

Mamman added that the council approved the contract for the production and delivery of one million sterilised metres grips embossed for three metres test stations in Oshodi, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kaduna in the sum of N155,227,619.18.