FG awarded N538bn contracts in 3 months

On Wednesday, November 26, 2014, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a sum of N9.287 billion for the purchase of cooking stoves.  The contract was approved following a memo seeking the council’s ratification of President Goodluck Jonathan’s anticipatory approval for the award of contract for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves and […]

On Wednesday, November 26, 2014, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a sum of N9.287 billion for the purchase of cooking stoves.  The contract was approved following a memo seeking the council’s ratification of President Goodluck Jonathan’s anticipatory approval for the award of contract for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves and 18,000 wonder bags for the National Clean Cooking Scheme. The contract was awarded in favour of Messrs Integral Renewable Energy Services Limited in the sum of N9,287,250,000.00 inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT), with a delivery period of 12 weeks.  The contract is in furtherance of a scheme to engender clean cooking culture amongst the poor rural women as well as to reduce and eliminate cooking with solid fossil which, according to him, is detrimental to health.
However, our checks in the 2014 budget for the Federal Ministry of Environment revealed that there was no such item. What is close to the cooking gas contract is found on Item ENRIRT081006509, which is described as “Mapping of charcoal producing areas as source of GHG Emission and introduction of energy efficient stoves (coal bricks stove) as mitigation option. The sum voted for this is N35 million, a far cry from the N9.2 billion approved by FEC.
Government claimed that  the scheme was expected to provide 20 million clean stoves over a five-year period at the rate of four million stoves per annum  to be  equitably distributed free of charge.
The Minister of Environment, Mrs Lawrencia Laraba – Mallam, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for trying to give succour to poor rural women as cooking with firewood has become a silent killer.
On how the stoves would be distributed, Laraba – Mallam said: “We will first consider women that have got fertiliser, using the electronic wallet system. We have an NGO that has registered two million women. Irrespective of political or tribal affiliation, the stoves will go round”.
She added: “The health aspect of these women will be protected. The environment will also be protected. The problems of erosion, flood and drought will be addressed with this scheme”.
The minister, however, dodged a question on whether the contract was aimed at tactically launching the concept of “stomach infrastructure” to woo the masses for the 2015 general elections.
In spite of the fact the praises for the president, why would government give out a contract that is captured in the 2014 budget? Why give out a contract that would be executed over a four-year period, three months to a crucial election?
However, it is not just the cooking stoves contract that has been hastily awarded. In the last two months, contracts worth over N538 billion have been awarded since September 3, 2014, in a space of three months. The funds were approved at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
On September 3, the FEC, based on a memo brought by Transport Minister Idis Umar, approved €43 million Euro for the contract of the design and construction of four 60TON Bollard Pull Marine Tug Boats awarded to Messrs Depasa Marine International Nigeria Limited, with a 24-month completion period.
That was aside from the $5.8 million approved the same day for the engineering design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 2x60MVA, 132/33KV at Amasiri and 2x132KV line bays extension at Abakaliki for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
On September 10, adopting a memo from the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, the Federal Executive Council approved a sum of N367 million for the purchase of power transformer in Maiduguri, Borno State.
On September 17, the council approved N147.4 billion for major road contracts in Kogi, Edo and Ogun states, in line with a memo from the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememem, who then put the completion period of the projects at 48 months.
He listed the contracts as follows: Contract No. 6135 for the dualisation Lokoja – Benin Road Section I: Obajana Junction – Okene (40.00km) in Kogi State, in favour of Messrs CGC Nigeria Limited in the sum of N18.9bn; Contracts No. 6136 for the dualisation of Lokoja – Benin Road Section II: Okene – Auchi (26.70km) in Kogi and Edo states, in favour of Messrs Mothercat Limited in the sum of N10.2bn; Contract No. 6137 for the dualisation of Lokoja – Benin Road Section III: Auchi – Ehor (29.20km) in Edo State in favour of Messrs Danata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited in the sum of N23.2bn; Contract No. 6138 for the dualisation of Lokoja – Benin Road Section IV: Ehor – Benin (47.70km) in Edo State in favour of Messrs RCC (Nigeria) Limited, in the sum of N23.6bn; Contract No. 6241 for the reconstruction and asphalt overlay of Benin – Ofosu – Ore – Ajebandele – Shagamu dual carriageway Phase IV: Ajebandele – Shagamu KM162+586 (Ondo State to KM 261+000 (Ogun) in Ogun State, in  favour of Messrs RCC Nigeria Limited, in the sum of N71.7bn.
On October 8, the government approved a sum of N1.1 billion for contract of two locomotives for new standard gauge rail lines across the country, in favour of Messrs CNR Darling Locomotives & Rolling Stock Limited and CCECC Nigeria Limited, with a completion period of 10 months.
The Federal Executive Council also on October 15 approved N2.7 billion for the rehabilitation of some major roads located at Garki and Wuse Districts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
On October 22, the council approved a total sum of N165 billion for the construction of the East-West Road, Section V (Oron – Calabar), Phase One in Akwa Ibom/Cross River State, in favour of Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited, with a completion period of five years.
Also approved then included N24bn as revised estimated total cost of the East – West Road, Sections 1&2 in favour of Messrs Setraco Nig. Ltd; N3.5bn for the supply and installation of a full jet fighter simulator (5000 seriesB737) for Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; N106m for the supervision of the construction of Calabar – Oban – Nsan – Ajasor Road (section 1) in Cross River in favour of Messrs Siraj Nig. Ltd; another N106m for the supervision of the construction of the Mbaise Rind Road intersecting Owerri – Umahia Road in Imo State, in favour of Messrs Reset Consult; N150m for the contract for the appointment of a transaction adviser for the rehabilitation of independence building for the National Trade & International Business Centre, Lagos, in favour of Messrs Infrastructure Bank Plc; and N132 million for the purchase of a zone office building for the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Imo State, in favour of Messrs Chukwuemeka Okoli & Associates.
On November 5, the FEC approved a total sum of $945 million loan (an equivalent of N160 billion) for flood control, irrigation management and water projects. Of the credit facility sought from the International Development Association, $495 million is for irrigation management in the country, $200 million for flood control in Ibadan metropolis and $250 million for the proposed urban water project in Rivers, Enugu and Ekiti states.
That was in addition to N9.067 billion approved on the same day for the construction of Calabar – Oban – Nsan – Okoroba – Alassor Road in Cross River, in favour of Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited with a 24-month completion period; N6.2 billion for the construction of Mbaise Ring Road in Niger Delta, in favour of Messrs Arab Contractors, 24 – month period; N3.6 billion for Phase One of Mbak Mkpeti – Itu – Arochukwu Road in Niger Delta, in favour of Messrs United Radak Nigeria Limited, 24 – month period; and N3.246 billion for Mbak Atai – Ikot – Ntu – Mkpeti – Okuiboku Road in Akwa Ibom, in favour of Jukolo International Ltd, 18 – month period.     
On November 12, the FEC approved a sum of N55 billion for three road projects in the Federal Capital Territory: The funds included N44 billion for the extension of Inner Southern Expressway from Southern Parkway to Ring Road II in Abuja, in favour of CGC Nig. Ltd, with a 30 – month completion period; N7.2 billion for the construction of one service carriageway (14km) of Inner Expressway (INEX) from Ring Road III to Ring Road IV, Abuja Industrial Park, in favour of Messrs Salini Nigeria Limited, 24 months; and N1.8 billion for the provision of access road and engineering infrastructure to Plot 1458 and adjourning plots around Hot FM Radio Station at Gudu District, in favour of Messrs Sageto Limited, with a 17-month completion period.
Also on that day, the council approved another N44 billion for the upgrading of 15km of the East-West Road Section III: Port Harcourt (From Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction) in Rivers State; N1 billion for Molete Water Works Project in Kwara State, in favour of Messrs Turning Point Engineering Limited; and N383 million for consultancy services of the construction of Nigeria’s Cultural Centre & Millennium Tower Project in Abuja, in favour of Messrs Sal Consults.
On November 19, the Federal Executive Council approved N273 million for consultancy services of the feasibility study and conceptual design of Lots 4, 5 and 6 of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit Network, in favour of Ladiom Associates, with a completion period of one year.
On November 26, the FEC approved a sum of N60.9 billion for the provision of engineering infrastructure to Kyami District, Zone C of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. The contract was awarded to Messrs Mangrovetech Construction and Engineering Nigeria Limited (KaKatar CE Limited) in the sum of N60,887,492,656.65 with the completion period of 60 months.