Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved a new maintenance policy that will drive maintenance culture in Nigeria.
The new policy, known as the “ National Public building maintenance frameworks”, was announced by Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, while briefing State House Correspondents after the first meeting of the Federal Executive Council, presided over by President Muhammmadu Buhari, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja
This is just as FEC also approved the establishment of four new private universities that met the requirements for the establishment of universities in the country.
The Minister while unveiling the new maintenance framework, said it is a precursor to the development of a “ maintenance economy” aimed at providing jobs for millions of the nation’s teeming youths currently unemployed across the country
Fashola disclosed that his Ministry is also working towards developing a framework for maintenance of other government assets including roads, bridges and oil assets, across the country.
“ We have never developed this type of maintenance economy which we are creating today. With what we have done now, we have started with a National pilot plan for inventory of our national assets and a maintenance procurement manual which will be made available to all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, nationwide.”he said
Fashola also announced the award of contract for the development of basic infrastructure commitments of the Mambila power plant was also approved by FEC
Fashola also disclosed that the Council approved the first contract of over N800 million, for demarcation of specific area of land for the project, leading to enumeration and resettlement preparatory to construction of the Mambilla Hydro Power Project.
He noted that for Mambilla project, while people see power, government is targeting economic enabler.
“So this is the first step. Already, 129 different categories of Nigerian businesses have submitted proposals even before we advertised. What we have done is to develop procurement guidelines for the various jobs.”
“Mambilla will consume 18million bags of cements, as such, 22,500 trucks will be needed. So, look at the drivers and the diesels.
“Apart from the mining jobs, you need to transport them and you are looking at 900,000 trucks, 42,000 tones of steels that will be required to build this. You can see the economic impact of Mambilla.
Today, another the promising memo approved by FEC is a National public building maintenance policy and framework.
The Key words are maintenance and public buildings, because we are starting with buildings. The framework for roads, bridges, power stations and others will be unveiled later”
He said the new policy, will institutionalized a maintenance culture in the country, adding that some of the benefits of the policy would to provide an inventory of government assets, and job opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.
“We have trained artisans at different levels but we haven’t created an economy for them to go and express themselves – Tilers, Bricklayers, Plumbers, landscapers, fitters.
“When they leave training schools what do they do? They go and ride tricycles where there is no training school because there is an economy in tricycles – this is the answer.
Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, also announced FEC approval of Four new private universities which recently certified all the necessary requirements for their establishments.
They include the Greenfield University, Kaduna, Dominion University, Oyo, the Trinity University, Ogun and Westland at Iwo, Osun state.
Minister of State for Aviation, Hedi Serika, on his part said the Council approved the contract for the procurement and installation of the second phase of Controller–pilot data link communications for the Kano flight information region.
He disclosed that the Controller–pilot data link communications also referred to as controller pilot data link, is a method by which air traffic controllers can communicate with pilots over a datalink system.
He explained that within the Kano flight information region is Abuja and Lagos airports. The total contract sum is $5,403,271 which is equivalent to N1,652,320,271.80 exclusive of five percent VAT. The contract is to Nigeria Airspace Management Agency.
Sirika said when completed, it will improve communication by digital means between the pilot and the controller, improve efficiency, make decision making faster and make departures and arrival seamless and faster.
Minister of State Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu disclosed that FEC also approved Engineering Procurement Construction and Installation contract for the twelve inch by six inch Opoho Okoho flexible pipelines in OML 119 which is awarded to messrs National Oil Verco completion and MELCURT Nigeria Ltd. It is a consortium of two companies at the total contract sum was $3.7 billion.
“The essence of this was that in 2014, the pipeline with which we were evacuating crude in that area gave way and so production became very marginal, we were operating average of about twenty thousand barrels a day as against about thirty seven, forty thousand barrels and this contract was therefore to replace that pipeline with a new technological flexible pipeline.
“The last pipeline lasted for only 50 years a lot of corrosive environment in which they operated.. it is a nine month contract, when completed we will be able to get back production to forty thousand barrels per day. It is very critical and will generate close to two hundred and seventy million dollars per annum. So it is very important.
FEC also granted approval for the Escravos to Lagos gas pipeline phase one for additional unforeseen works in engineering, contract had been given in 2008 and it was about eighty three percent complete but additional scope has been added to that pipeline and variation of about nine million dollars was approved today.
“That pipeline is so critical; it is what helps us move stranded gas out of the Escravos of Oghara region back into the Escravos Lagos pipeline. It is two months contract”
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
