From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Works to step down memos to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in order to re-examine projects that require additional funding and review.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to State House Correspondents, at the end of a meeting presided over by the president.
Idris said the council directed the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to collaborate with the ministers of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu and Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun to streamline all projects contained in the memo for appropriate funding intervention.
He said President Tinubu also directed that all projects requiring extra funding from the memos presented at the meeting be reconsidered for further deliberation at the next council meeting.
Idris clarified that the projects requiring step down were inherited from previous administrations and are now being streamlined and reworked with priority to ensure their completion in instalments.
He said the Lagos-Calabar highway and other newly approved roads by the Tinubu administration are not part of the projects requiring augmentation.
The minister explained that the decision to step down the projects was not only due to funding issues but also other variables being considered.
He said it is not an abandonment and that augmentation and review are not for new projects, as all newly awarded projects do not have augmentation issues.
The council also set up a committee to review Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act. The committee is to be chaired by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
Bagudu made the disclosure while briefing alongside his colleagues.
Bagudu said President Tinubu has directed all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to review their intended procurements as provided for in the appropriation to bridge the gaps between appropriated sums and the sums required to execute the projects.
“This will enable a clear source of funding and support timely harmonisation of memos by both the federal ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning before subsequent submission and presentation to the executive council,” Bagudu said.
On his part, Fagbemi said the government is considering timeliness in the review to further amend the Public Procurement Act to align with modern realities.
“We want to ensure whatever is coming to the FEC is in line with the budgetary provisions. Some of the projects have been there for close to 13 years,” Fagbemi said.
He added that the amended Act will eliminate delays in the execution of infrastructure projects by ensuring that timelines are adhered to from conception to final execution.
The ministers of Finance, Budget and Planning, as well as Works, have been mandated to serve as a clearing house before the reviewed Act is represented to FEC.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation said the council discussed and expressed strong dissatisfaction with a report published by Daily Trust newspaper regarding the Samoa Agreement.
According to Idris, the government views the Daily Trust report as “misleading, false and designed to create confusion in the land.”
He said the Federal Government has written to the industry’s ombudsman, urging them to look into the matter and address the ‘excesses’ of the Daily Trust. The minister said the government is committed to press freedom and has no intention of gagging the media. However, he called on the media to report responsibly and avoid spreading fake news and misinformation, which, he said, have caused damage to the psyche of the Nigerian people.
Idris said the government expects the industry’s ombudsman to look into the matter objectively and that the Daily Trust should acknowledge its mistakes and apologise to the nation. The minister also assured the government’s doors are open, and the media can access information from relevant government agencies through the Freedom of Information Act.