***As SEC awards Tanke Flyover, digital learning for children
By Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Kwara State government will on November 11 flag off the construction of the Osi-Obbo road, a strategic border motorway connecting Kwara to Ekiti State, ending years of public agony along that corridor, according to a cabinet briefing on Tuesday evening.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday evening in Ilorin, the state capital, Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu said the flag-off of the construction work on the 11.1km road will proceed as planned, barring any unforeseen hitches.
She said the cabinet also approved the award of a contract to execute the KwaraLearn programme which seeks to tackle absenteeism, boost school enrolment, upgrade children in public schools to digital learning, and improve education outcomes.
Modibbo-Kawu said the cabinet has also approved for the state government — like every other states in the country — to key into the federal government’s N18bn bridge Finance to underwrite old loans inherited from the former administration as well as execute some infrastructural projects in the state, adding that the bridge Finance is the initiative of the Federal Government to cushion the effects of loan repayment on the states, including the facilities the former administration received in September and December 2015.
She also announced that the administration has revoked the initial Kishi-Kaiama road contract initially awarded by the former administration to Rocad construction Limited, saying the revocation is as a result of objections by the Federal Government. She said the contract would now be awarded to CPN (Construction Product Nigeria Limited) that won the bid in line with the provisions of extant laws and the position of the Federal Government. Section 1 of the road, stretching 34.5km between Kaiama and Tesse, will gulp N3,702,874,523.94, according to the commissioner.
Modibo-Kawu said the cabinet also approved the construction of a Flyover at the Tanke Pipeline Junction in Ilorin metropolis to tackle the current and expected traffic logjam in that busy corridor.
She said the contract was awarded to a prominent local contractor JMK Construction Company Limited for N2,272,899,200.00 with completion period of 12 months.
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