THE Federal Government has approved two contracts totaling N15.3 billion for the supply and installation of information and communication technology components and digital assistance devices prior to the population and housing census, which is scheduled for May 3–5.
This was disclosed to State House Correspondents shortly after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, by Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.
Shehu said, “Among those memos that were okayed today was the award of the contract for the supply and installation of information and communication technology components for the 2023 population census.
“The ICT component contract was awarded for about N10.9bn.
“Another contract that was approved for the National Population Commission was one for the development and implementation of mobile device management solution for the personnel digital assistance devices to be used for the 2023 population census. This is in the sum of about N4.4bn.”
In the same light, Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, reported that three memoranda were approved by the council, including one for the digitisation of processes and workflow, which was approved for N916.8 with a 12-month implementation time frame.
According to him, the approval would ensure that all paper records, including files and memoranda, were converted to digital format.
Fashola also disclosed that a contract for the construction of the Kaduna Eastern Bypass received an additional N36 billion from the Council as a variation.
The road, which was first granted in 2002 during the Obasanjo administration, links Kaduna with about 11 other states.
“The contract has been long going, awarded since 2002, largely unfunded. We resuscitated it to life through our Sukuk Project; it’s 48 kilometres, over 20 kilometres has been completed, but the rates at which the contract was awarded have become obsolete because of inflation and so, the contractor sought and council has considered and approved an augmentation to increase the contract size from N38bn to N74.65bn.
“So that’s an augmentation of N36.46bn.”
Fashola also said the council approved the construction of four roads in Kwara State, under the Tax Credit System okayed by Buhari through Executive Order Seven in January 2019.
They include Bode Sa’adu-Kaiama-Kosubu Road, 130km, awarded at N152.84bn. Lafiagi-Shonga-Bacita Road, 74.30km, awarded at N80.22bn. Eiyenkorin-Afon-OjokuOffa Road, 42.64km, awarded at N56.33bn; and Okuta-Kenu-Tebe Road, 38km, awarded N37.89bn.
The total length of the four roads is 283.94km to be funded by BUA International Limited at the sum of N327.28bn.
