FEC approves N750bn for road projects

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a series of new and rescoped road projects worth over N750 billion across several states. The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known to State House correspondents on Monday after the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Umahi said the council approved the rescoping […]

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a series of new and rescoped road projects worth over N750 billion across several states.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known to State House correspondents on Monday after the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Umahi said the council approved the rescoping of multiple projects inherited from past administrations to align with current budgetary realities and funding availability.

Among the key approvals was the rescoping of the Akure-Eta-Ogbese-Ekiti border to Ikere-Ado-Ekiti road project, which spans Ondo and Ekiti states.

The original 18.4km dual carriageway was revised to 15km at a cost of N19.4 billion.

In line with FEC’s earlier directive to re-evaluate inherited contracts within available funding, the Ministry of Works also revised the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina-Kaduna road project.

Although initially awarded for N105 billion, the 375km stretch has now been rescoped to cover 82.4km along with six bridges, retaining the original budget figure.

Another project undergoing rescoping is the Maiduguri-Monguno Road in Borno State which was awarded in 2018 as a 105km project but now divided into two phases.

The first phase, covering 30km, has been approved at a cost of N21 billion, while the second phase will be presented to FEC upon completion of the first.

In Gombe State, the Cham-Numan section of the Gombe-Yola road in Adamawa has been rescoped and awarded at N9.25 billion for the first phase.

On his part, Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, revealed that FEC considered two major health sector items. First was the adoption of a report from a cabinet committee set up to combat the 2023 cholera outbreak.

The second health-related item approved by FEC was a major infrastructure upgrade at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, to facilitate its relocation to a permanent site in Apir, Benue State.

In the power sector, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced that FEC approved Nigeria’s first-ever National Integrated Electricity Policy.

The council also approved a comprehensive National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy, presented by the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

Additionally, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources secured FEC approval for urgent repair works on the Alau Dam in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The dam was responsible for devastating floods that ravaged the state last year, and the new contract is aimed at preventing a repeat of that disaster.