Wike rejects repeated variations of Ushafa–Bwari Road project cost

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has rejected the repeated variations of the Ushafa – Bwari Road project contract amount. Wike declared his rejection while briefing journalists after a visit to the project sites along with the Minister of State, FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud and other government officials in Abuja on Thursday. He described the consistent variation of the contract cost of the project as “very embarrassing”, saying “this is not what we are going to take. “The job was awarded in 2017 at N20 billion. In 2020, the contract was revised to N50 billion. As I speak to you, they have paid about N50 billion and what is outstanding is about N900 million. “Now they are telling us that the N900 million is not enough to complete a job they said had reached 90 per cent completion. “Therefore, asking for another variation, we are not going to accept. Even the engineering services, we are going to overhaul the system,” he said. The minister complained of so many variations in contract amount being handled by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), which he described as “worrisome”. “I have never seen a thing like this in my life. What we see in FCDA contract variations from N10 billion to N119 billion and from N50 billion to N200 billion is alarming, and I am not going to accept this,” he said. Wike, who equally visited the rehabilitation of Lower Usuma Dam Water Works, Gurara Road in Bwari, also expressed displeasure on the delivery of the water project. The minister said he was told that the project was awarded as an emergency contract, but realised on getting to the project site that it has not been awarded fully. He said that he just found out that what was given to the contractor was just a letter of intent in Aug. 2022. “I knew the importance of this project in supplying water to our people within the city and its environs. Water is very important and so I have directed that the project is no longer an emergency,” he said. Wike said that the project would be re-awarded, adding that his office would supervise the procurement process and invite other companies to bid for the project. On abandoned projects, the minister said that more than 10 contracts have been selected and approved for completion, adding that agreements have been concluded with the contractors. He said that the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Mr Shehu Hadi, had been directed to make sure that all the files approved since last week goes to the Director of Treasury. He added that he has directed all payments to contractors be made latest by Friday. He explained that based on the tagging of each project to Internally Generated Revenue, each contractor would be paid a certain amount of money every month based on the agreed project completion period. “We agreed with some companies to deliver the projects in six months, and some 15 months. “In fact, like the millennium tower, they (contractors) have agreed to finish it in two years’ time, and we are paying them N3 billion every month. “On Monday we are flagging off the resurfacing of most of the roads in Garki, Maitama and Wuse because the roads are terribly bad,” the minister said.

BUA to bring down price of cement in January

The Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu has said that the company is going to reduce the price of its product by January next year. Rabiu, said this when he fielded questions from journalists on Thursday in Abuja. He said the decision is part of the company’s efforts to support the government and Nigerians. The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi had recently said the federal government was considering the importation of cement as a way of bring down the price of the product. There has been outcry from Nigeria over the high price of cement in the country. The price of cement is between N4,500 to N4,800 across the country. Explaining, he said the challenge with the exchange rate was part of the reason for the high price of the product in the country at the moment. He said, “I understand that the minister is quite concerned, that the price of cement is high at almost N5,000 per tonne. I appreciate where the government is coming from and the frustration from all the issues in the country. “The price of cement at N5,000 is not high. If we look at the rate of the US dollar today, to import cement will be at N5,000. The cement cost, insurance and freight to any port in Nigeria will be in the region of about $100 a tonne. So, at $100 per tonne, if you take N800 to $1 then it will be N4,000 per bag. Then the port cost, and transportation from the port. “It’s not that the government wants to import cement, but they are frustrated that the price of cement is high. What we told our shareholders is that we will engage with the government to support the government. He further said that with its two production lines coming on stream before the end of the year, the company would be in a better position to execute its plan of supporting the government to bring down the price of cement. “If you have the volume and you reduce your price, and with the huge volumes that we have the price must come down. So, even if others are not ready to support the government, to support the reduction of the price of cement, they will be compelled because if they don’t reduce they will not be able to sell. That is why we are going to wait till the end of the year when these two lines are on stream. I will discuss with the minister and see how we can do that,” he added. Earlier at the AGM, shareholders approved the proposal of the board of directors to pay the sum of N2.80 per share in 2022 compared to the N2.60 per share paid in the previous year of 2021. A look at the audited financial statement revealed that the company’s revenue rose by 40.3 per cent to N361.9 billion in 2022 as against N257.3 billion recorded in 2021. Also, Profit After Tax rose by 12.1 per cent to N101.1 billion compared to N90.1 billion recorded in 2021.