Nura Sumaila briefing newsmen in Kano
The Kano State Government says it has committed N996.29bn to 1,557 projects across the 44 local government areas of the state in almost three years under the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Nura Maaji Sumaila, disclosed this on Sunday during an international press briefing on project implementation, geographical distribution, procurement compliance and the administration’s financial performance.
According to Sumaila, 867 projects, representing 55.68 per cent, had been completed, while 654 projects, or 42 per cent, are ongoing. He added that 26 projects were at the award stage, while 10 others were planned and ready for award.
“The data before us shows that Kano State has committed N996.29bn to 1,557 projects across the 44 local government areas, with 867 projects, representing 55.68 per cent, already completed,” Sumaila said.
Arewa PUNCH reports that the ministry’s records showed that N695.20bn had received Certificates of No Objection approvals, while payment certificates worth N444.75bn had been vetted.
“Of the N996.29bn cumulative contract value, N695.20bn has received Certificates of No Objection approvals, while N444.75bn in payment certificates has been vetted by the ministry,” the commissioner explained.
Sumaila said the NOC approvals represented 69.78 per cent of the cumulative contract value, while vetted payments accounted for 44.64 per cent, adding that the ministry would continue to monitor projects to ensure value for money.
He said the projects were distributed across metropolitan and rural areas, with 598 projects worth N299.36bn located in the eight metropolitan local government areas, while 653 projects valued at N287.90bn were in the 36 rural LGAs.
“Rural development remains a major component of this administration’s investment programme, with N287.90bn committed to 653 projects across the 36 rural LGAs,” he stressed.
The commissioner further disclosed that 37 cross-cutting projects, valued at N159.50bn, covered multiple LGAs, while 269 statewide and other projects accounted for N249.54bn.
He explained that the cross-cutting projects included major road expansions, bridges, solar street lighting, traffic management systems and inter-LGA roads, noting that such projects should not be attributed to individual LGAs to avoid double counting.
Among the major investments, Sumaila listed the N113.19bn mass housing project at Rijiyar Gwangwan, Dawakin Kudu; N24.77bn Katsina Road expansion covering parts of Fagge and Dala; and N21.90bn Modern Cities infrastructure covering Dawakin Kudu, Dawakin Tofa and Kumbotso.
He also cited the N27.74bn Madobi-Yako-Kafin Maiyaki/Kiru Road project and the N22bn Rural Model City housing project covering the 36 rural LGAs.
“The scale of these investments shows why government performance cannot be assessed simply by counting projects in each local government. Some single strategic projects are worth billions of naira and serve communities beyond one LGA,” Sumaila said.
However, he acknowledged that some high-value projects remained at the award stage and they include the Dawakin Kudu mass housing scheme and the Rural Model City project, which he said were awaiting the completion of relevant due-process procedures.
Sumaila assured the residents, development partners and the international community that the ministry would continue to strengthen procurement monitoring, payment certification and project evaluation.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that every naira committed to public development is subjected to appropriate procurement procedures, monitoring and accountability, and that these investments ultimately deliver tangible value to the good people of Kano State,” he assured the people
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