The Federal Government has explained why the Federal Executive Council has approved multibillion naira contracts barely 18 days to the end of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd)’s regime.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, and his water resources counterpart, Sulaiman Adamu, explained this after the FEC meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
Sambo, while responding to a question on the reason for the award of contracts which the outgoing ministers would not execute due to the expiration of tenure on May 29, said the regime would continue to perform its duties up to May 28.
He said: “Ladies and gentlemen, without any intentions of mischief, this government was elected to function from 2019 to precisely 29th of May 2023. Should we now stop functioning one month before the next appointment because we are coming to the end of the tenure?
“This government must work. We expect the next government to also work until the very last day of their tenure.”
Adamu explained that the contract approval process consumed time, noting that the incoming government would continue from where President Buhari’s administration stopped.
He noted: “If I may add, there are processes and this processes have started. We’re still operating the 2022 budget, we have agencies. These things are not just done in one day.
“We had lots of submissions to BPP to the ICRC, all the agencies involved in the procurement, and they have to get ready.