The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved the procurement of fertilizers and sprayers for dry-season farming in Abuja.
Mandate Secretary of the FCTA Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Malam Lawan Geidam announced this while briefing newsmen after the administration’s Executive Committee meeting on Monday. The meeting was presided over by the Minister Nyesom Wike.
Giving details, Geidam said the FCT executive approved the procurement of 300 metric tons of NPK, 300 metric tons of Urea, 310 NAFSAT sprayers, and 3500 liters of liquid fertilizer for irrigation farming in the FCT.
While thanking the Minister, the Secretary said the policy will encourage all-year farming in the FCT and improve food security in the nation’s capital.
“As you know, the rainy season has ended. We are going into dry season farming, that is, irrigation farming. This is the first time such approval was made in the FCT to encourage, instead of annual farming or rainy season farming, let’s go into irrigation and see that we can do farming all year round”.
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Also speaking, the Mandate Secretary, FCT Education Secretariat, Dr. Danlami Hayyo, said the contracts for procuring 1000 computers to digitize the education system in FCT Senior Secondary Schools and the contract for providing examination materials for FCT schools were also considered and approved in the course of the EXCO Meeting.
He said, “Because we want to digitalize the education system in the FCT, the transformation of FCT schools into a digital education system, a contract was awarded to provide over 1000 laptops attached to vocational and educational curriculum content so that teaching and learning in the FCT will now move from regular classroom teaching to a media education system of learning.
“The value of this contract is about 990 million, which I believe is going to impact our FCT students, who will start learning digitally. It will assist a lot in JAMB and other examinations, and I believe that in the next few years, even WAEC and NECO will now be based on CBT examinations.
Also addressing journalists, the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) Coordinator, Chief Felix Obuah, said the committee also deliberated on the relocation of the Apo automobile mechanics and spare part dealers currently trading on the road corridor in Apo.
He explained that the FCT executive resolved to address all the grey areas affecting the relocation exercise to allow for the smooth relocation of the traders to a permanent site in Wasa District.
He also stated that the FCT Minister is considering the best ways to ease traders’ financial burden and ensure that nobody was surcharged.
Chief Obuah said 15,000 traders were enumerated at the road corridor and buffer zone in the Apo Mechanic Village, of whom about 12,000 obtained application forms.
He said, “At the end of the presentation, the executive was happy and ready to make sure that all those at the road corridor relocate to the permanent site to enable the commencement of construction of the OSEX road.
“Furthermore, the EXCO also approved that we are going to set up another Committee to ensure that nobody is surcharged in any form or shape.
The FCTA General Counsel, Barrister Salman Dako, told journalists that a memorandum was considered for the award of the contract for the design, construction, and furnishing of the proposed office complex for the Body of Benchers in Abuja.
Dako explained that the construction of the office complex will provide befitting accommodation and create an enabling environment for the Body of Benchers to carry out its statutory functions.
“To accommodate them very well and to create an enabling environment for them to carry out their statutory functions, the EXCO has considered a memorandum presented by the Acting Executive Secretary of the FCDA to build a befitting office complex for them so that they can carry out their statutory duties”.
He also said that the contractor has 10 months within which to complete the contract.
“So, we believe that in 10 months, we should be having a befitting complex for the Body of Benchers”, the GC said.
