It was another impetuous contract bazaar at this week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting where instead of hearing about their debate on policy issues or directions on matters that advance the cause of the common Nigerian, all the nation got was the announcement of a flurry of suspicious contract awards and allocation of funds for projects. It indeed raises eyebrows and doubts that such has become the preoccupation of a government that has less than 50 days to quit the scene! It is apparently not about finishing strong since the timelines for the contract delivery spill into the life of the next administration.
At the cabinet meeting of the Federation on Wednesday, contracts amounting to a staggering N48,996,488,925 were awarded under the ministries of Works and Housing; Finance, Budget and National Planning and Transportation. Contract cost revision by way of augmentation for the old Enugu/Onitsha Road was awarded in the sum of N17,050,000,000, which revised the contract to N48,996,488,925. The completion time for this project was then extended to 42 months. The FEC also approved a fresh contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos to gulp N6,278,063,585.58 for a period of 24 months.
