The Kano State Executive Council has adopted the review of rates for the rehabilitation of Kwanar Kwankwaso-Kwankwaso Road in Madobi Local Government of the state with an augmentation of the sum of N97.8 million.

The contract for the project was awarded in March 2022, at the sum of N372,268,632.03 million with an advance payment of N154,491, 457.43 million and works have reached 50 per cent progress.

The Kano State Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, who disclosed this during a media briefing after the council meeting held at the Government House in Kano, said the review was attributed to the incessant increase in the prices of construction materials.

He said the increase brings the revised contract sum to the tune of N470, 095, 463.85 million.

Garba stated that the council also approved the release of N40.3 million for the rehabilitation of 10 dilapidated solar-powered boreholes and VIP latrines in 10 rural markets across the state.

The commissioner recalled that the state government through the ministry for rural and community development had constructed VIP latrines which use solar power to operate the boreholes in 74 rural markets across the state since 2012.

He stated that the state COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (KANO CARES) is rehabilitating 23 out of the existing 74 under its intervention programme for Rural Wet Market.

Garba said the council approved the revised estimated total cost for the construction of Muhammadu Buhari Interchange at NNPC Mega Station Rotary Intersection, Hotro, Maiduguri Road in the metropolis.

The commissioner recalled that the contract for the project was awarded in March, this year, at N8.9 billion with an advance payment of N4.1 billion.

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He said the project has reached 97 per cent progress, noting that the major components of the project that included the underpass, overpass, and flyover have been completed, with the underpass and overpass opened for traffic.

Garba further disclosed that in view of the prevailing circumstances and approval for the execution of additional works on provision of streetlights, and fencing, provision of sand dust, artificial grassing under the flyover, provision of permanent CCTV camera, service ducts and tower, the contract had to be reviewed upward to N9.2 billion.

The commissioner stated that the council has also approved a request for the extension of College premises in respect of the state College of Health, Science and Technology (School of Hygiene) in accordance with the recommendation by the National Board for Technical Education to give space for the accommodation of the college’s partially accredited programmes.

He said the council approved the allocation of the former section ‘B’ of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) building located opposite Sabuwar Kofa to serve as an extension to the college.

Garba added that the council also granted request for the release of 55 officers from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies to undergo oversea training on salary option and have secured admissions from various donor agencies, including TET-FUND.

The commissioner said approval has also been given by the council for the payment of arrears of hazard allowances to the non-academic staff of Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano amounting to N24.8 million covering January-May, 2019.

He stated that the council equally approved the implementation of salaries migration of 2, 207 staff redeployed to the state payroll with a cost implication of N199.5 million.

Garba said the staff drawn from local governments, SUBEB, and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), were deployed to secondary and tertiary institutions in the state.

The commissioner said 451 of the staff were from the state payroll whose salaries would increase in the monthly state wage bill by N19.1 million due to migration from one salary scale to another, while 1,756 staff whose salaries are not in the state payroll would increase by N180.4 million monthly.

The commissioner added that the council has approved the State and Local Government Revenue Administration (Codification and Consolidation) Amendment Bill 2022 and transmission to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

The Star