As usual, the FEC agenda is filled with awards and approval of contracts.

Eight of the nine items slated for discussion on the agenda of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday have to do with costs of various contracts President Goodluck Jonathan, ministers and other top government officials want either reviewed, augmented or approved for execution.

The President, who is expected to preside over the meeting scheduled for the Villa in Abuja, would personally oversee deliberations on a memo seeking the revision of the contracts sum for the procurement of direct data capture machines that would enable the payment of $3.8million value added tax, VAT, on the importation of the machines.

In addition, a memo seeking the president’s approval for the award of contract for 28 infrastructural development projects for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, would also be discussed during the meeting.

Minister of Works, Bashir Yugudu, would also present two memos for discussion in respect of addendum No. 2 for the extension of the service lanes from River Niger Bridge head at Onitsha to Kilometre 1 as well as the rehabilitation of slip roads at Upper Iweka interchange in Onitsha and augmentation of contract for the dualization of section 1 of the Ibadan-Ilorin road.

Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah’s memo would be seeking the approval of members for the augmentation of the contract cost for the pre and post contract consultancy services for the improvement of power supply to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, while the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Bala Mohammed, would come up with another memo to solicit the support of his colleagues for the contract for the rehabilitation of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Parliament building in Abuja.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is expected to defend the memo seeking for the Council approval of the $77.73million French Development Agency, AFD, credit for the co-financing of the second phase of the National Urban Water Sector Reform project, NUWSRP 2, in Cross River and Lagos States.

Minister of Niger Delta, Goodsday Orubebe, who has come under serious pressures from some civil society groups in recent times over some multi-billion contracts in the region, would present a memo for approval for the award of the contract for the construction of the Sagbemi-Kiribo-Gada-Igbekibo road in Ondo state, while the memo for the increase in contract prices for the supply of foodstuff and cooking gas for prisoners which could not be deliberated upon last week would be presented again by the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro.