The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday approved a variation of N3.9billion for the completion of federal secretariat projects in Anambra, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Osun states.
The Council also approved N1.5billion for the rehabilitation of the second phase of the Usuma Dam at Bwari, Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The Ministers of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and FCT, Muhammed Bello confirmed these developments at a briefing on the outcome of the Council meeting, presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Fashola stated that the secretariat projects were initially awarded in 2011 at the cost of N13.5billion, saying the approved N3.9billion variation was for all the five projects, bringing the total cost of the projects to N17.4billion.
“We applied to council to revise the estimates and total cost of files of 16 contracts because the cost of materials had altered significantly since 2011 when these projects started and we want to complete them and these are the federal secretariat projects in Anambra, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Osun and Zamfara states.
“The variation was for N3.975 billion total for all the five. They are handled by different contractors, but each one wanted a variation and the total sum of variation came to N3.975 billion and we sought Council’s approval and the approval was granted so the old contract price of N13,565,621,307 has now been increased to N17,541,456,168.
“These secretariats are necessary to enable us to house federal workers in these states. The problem arose from the creation of new states, in assets sharing some of the old states took the whole secretariats, so our staff in those states, across all federal ministries, are either in rented official premises for their work or squatting in state government premises.
“For example, my ministry has controllers in all the 36 states; Controllers for Works, Controllers for Housing. These are some of the people, apart from other ministries who have staff in those states.
“Council approved this variation and the intention is to enable us to complete the projects,” he said.
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