The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N32.4 billion for the completion of the National Library Headquarters in Abuja. This approval comes after over a decade of the library being under construction, with the project gulping billions of Naira. The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opia, made the disclosure during a press briefing after the FEC meeting on Wednesday.
According to the Minister of State for Education, the project’s scope of work includes constructing a concrete structure consisting of 11 floors. This will comprise eight upper floors for housing bookstores and two basement floors, including locker rooms, bindery, restaurants, clinic, creches, changing rooms, exhibition hall, printing press, auditorium, general reference areas, legal deposits, cataloguing, office for administration book stacks, electronic data processing centre, reading areas, library research and training centre, gates and gatehouses, public convenience and underground car pack furnishing, as well as perimeter fencing, electrical and mechanical services, internal roads and other external works.
In addition, the FEC also approved N1.398 billion for the completion of the second phase of the Uto bridge in Delta state. The project was awarded in 2006, and the contract is yet to be completed. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said that the federal government is committed to finishing the project before the administration winds up.
The N1.398 billion approval is to revise the contract from N4.435 billion to N5.835 billion, inclusive of 7.5% VAT, to ensure that the project is completed before the administration winds up. Lai Mohammed emphasized that this is an old project that the federal government is committed to completing.
The National Library Headquarters in Abuja is a significant project that will enhance learning, research, and educational activities in Nigeria. The FEC’s approval of N32.4 billion for the completion of this project will be a significant boost to the education sector. Furthermore, the completion of the Uto bridge in Delta state will provide a critical infrastructure that will enhance transportation and socio-economic activities in the area.