FG says the present banquet hall is ill befitting.
The sum of N2.2 billion will be used for the construction of a new Presidential Banquet Hall in Abuja as the present hall, the Federal Government says, is not befitting the presidential residence.
“We notice that it is inconvenient, it is not in tandem with what is outside the country, even smaller countries have better Banquet Halls near the Presidential residence,” the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed said.
Mr. Muhammed said that the construction of the Banquet Hall, a 150-seater has been awarded to Julius Berger Nig. Plc. The minister said Julius Berger was chosen for security reasons and because it is familiar with the Presidential Villa.
“Part of the things we are going to provide there is 150-seater with all the facilities that will cover the work ways, security, Hall conveniences, technical room and press briefing room as destined from this one but that is more and more enhanced,” the Minister said.
The sum of N2. 78 billion was also approved for the resurfacing of some selected existing roads and remedial works on bridges in Garki and Wuse 1 Districts.
Mr. Muhammed said the execution of the project became necessary in view of the fact that the affected roads had exceeded their 15 years average designed live span.
He said the reconstruction work, which had been scheduled in phases, would include Herbert Macaulay way, IBB way, Olusegun Obasanjo way, Sultan Abubakar way, Michael Opara way and Ladi Kwali street.
Mr. Muhammad said that the project would be able to generate about 750 employment opportunities during its execution.
According to him, the FCT administration has N400 million in its 2012 statutory budget for the commencement of the project.
The minister said that the Council also approved a Revised Estimated Total Cost, RETC of the contract for the construction of Tank 1 and 6 and Associated Truck Mains for Abuja Water project from N22 billion to N20 billion.
Also briefing the correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the Senior Adviser on Media to the President, Reuben Abati, said the Council approved N148.9 million for the conduct of Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit for the 2007-2011 Oil and Gas Industry Audit.
He said the approval was aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the extractive industry.
Also, council was informed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, of a landmark diplomatic agreement between Venezuela and Nigeria to allow transit and 90-day stay, for holders of official and diplomatic passports of both countries.
The minister noted that the agreement is a show of confidence in Nigeria.
She also conveyed Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez’s condolence to Jonathan on the death of his younger brother.
The minister also announced President Jonathan’s approval of N13 billion to clear debts owed by Nigeria’s foreign missions.
Source: Premium Times
UPDATE: Jonathan's jamboree hall not listed in budget
The proposed banquet hall will breach federal anti-corruption regulation.
The building of a new banquet hall at N2.2 billion for the presidency is nowhere listed in the State House’s budgets, qualifying the contract as an “un-budgeted project” in violation of a key federal rule, a review of the budget shows.
The construction is not listed amongst new or old projects for the current fiscal year, 2012; and is not in 2011 and 2013, both years scrutinized for added certainty.
There is also no mention of the project under the Federal Capital Territory Administration budget, authorized to execute similar projects at times, a recent example being the National Assembly’s new offices.
For the three years examined, where the banquet hall is mentioned in the budgets, the allocations are merely to address specific repairs and rehabilitation within the hall, subheads costing no more than N60 million each.
Even so, same repairs within the hall have maintained a constant showing in the budget for successive years.
Under the 2012 budget, new sets of “presentation equipment” were to be purchased for the hall at the cost of N116.7 million, while rehabilitation of the roof of the banquet dome was to cost N62.2 million.
Electrical installation for the building was proposed for N34.6 million too. Coincidentally, same “electrical installation” appeared for 2011 and 2013 at N45 million and N30 million respectively.
A further “rehabilitation of the dome” for the 2013 budget, a proposal not yet approved by the National Assembly, is also set at N81 million.
In all, no costs were allocated for fresh construction as approved by the federal government on Wednesday.
Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, could not be reached for comments for this story. He did not return calls and is yet to respond to our e-mail enquiry.
Budgets examined were obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation website.
The observation, made after examinations by PREMIUM TIMES within 24 hours of the contract announcement, casts a troubling twist to an already controversial project.
It tells a story of how the federal government deviates from its own budgets, a theme rigorously reported by this paper; and more importantly, how it unilaterally deploys public funds to projects that critics consider frivolous.
The announcement of the job to construction firm, Julius Berger, came after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Bala Mohammed, who addressed reporters after the meeting, said the huge contract, comprising a 150-seater facility with conveniences, walkways and allied utilities, will bring the unit nearer to the president’s residence.
Mr. Mohammed said the existing banquet hall is about two kilometers from the residence of the president.
A new one close enough, he added, will accord the country a due pride of place since “smaller countries” own similar structures.
“We notice that it is inconvenient, it is not in tandem with what is outside the country, even smaller countries have better Banquet Halls near the Presidential residence,” the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed said.
The announcement has been met with fierce criticism with many calling for its suspension, accusing the government of displaying insensitivity when the nation is bedeviled by unemployment and poverty.
“Is the hall now the problem of Nigeria? Why do we continue to waste public funds when millions of people are wallowing in abject poverty,” said Lanre Suraj of the Human and Environmental Development Agency.
Critics have also questioned the cost of the project and claims by the minister that the exigency of the project was to reduce the distance of a banquet hall for the president.
“If a banquet hall alone is constructed at N2.2 billion, one wonders how much hotels spend to build their entire structures,” Mr. Suraj said.
Bala Mohammed lies on distance
Distances in Aso Rock Villa – Google Maps
For hours, PREMIUM TIMES examined the distances and spread using imaging and mapping tools. The farthest, having to be the diagonal stretch from an end of the villa to the other, was 1.2 kilometers.
Distances from the president’s residence or office to where the current banquet hall is, averaged at about 500 metres.
But of all the shortcomings of the contract, it is the no-mention of the contract in the budgets, a crime punishable by three years and a fine of N100 thousand, that stood most prominent.
Source: Premium Times
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