FG approves N311.8bn to procure 30 buses for civil servants in FCT
The Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday approved the sum N311,850,00.00, for the procurement of 30, 33-seater Innoson buses as welfare package for federal civil servants in Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku in company of the Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, and the Head of Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji, said the meeting presided by President Goodluck Jonathan, gave the approval following the adoption of the previous conclusion, where the President tabled a memorandum to seek council’s ratification of his anticipatory approval for the procurement of 30 numbers of 33-seater diesel air conditioned Innoson bus IVM6800, by the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
He said the choice of Innoson bus is in compliance with the directive of the Council at its January 20th, 2010, that locally assembled vehicles be patronized instead of foreign vehicles where there are substitutes.
The Head of Service in his remarks said, the procurement of the buses will serve as a welfare package for civil servants and as palliative for transportation difficulties being experienced by teeming civil servants living in satellite towns within the FCT as well as increased productivity and raise staff morale for service delivery.
He said in view of the priority placed on service delivery at institutional and individual levels in the public service by the administration and the enormous benefits of the scheme on the lives of the beneficiaries, council ratified the President’s anticipatory approval for the procurement of 30 numbers of 33-seater deselect air conditioned Innoson Bus IVM 6800, in favour of Messrs Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd in the sum of N311,850,00.00, inclusive of VAT, with delivery period of 10 months.
Maku said the Council also discussed the progress in the implementation of the constituency projects across the country.
He said it was President’s determination to ensure that constituency projects, many of which abandoned in several parts of the country, were completed to ensure that people at the grassroots benefit from the expenditure and investments already been made on these projects.
Make said, “So, in order to smoothen the coordination of the implementation of the constituency projects, the President had earlier directed the Minister of Special Duties to coordinate and supervise the implementation of all constituency projects in the country.
“Constituency projects, you will recall are projects that are allocated mainly in constituencies of members of the National Assembly and such projects mainly are subjected by the National Assembly members but of course implemented by the various MDAs.
“But over the years, we have had difficulties in the implementation of these projects because of the turnover in the National Assembly, you will find that projects started by legislators who were unable to return to the House or Senate are often abandoned by those who succeed them.
“And these had made it difficult to orderly execute and implement those projects. Another problem is due to project design and location of project. Sometimes, you will see a project that has to do with water supply located in the ministry of information or in a ministry that does not have the technical capacity to implement it.
“But the President has decided to address it in fundamental ways through coordinating the projects in one ministry through the supervising ministry, the Ministry of special duties and ensuring that funds are released specifically for constituency projects. At the last count the Federal Government has set aside about N75 billion for the implementation of constituency projects”.