By Ahmed Idris
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N133 million for procurement infrastructural facility and equipment for Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to check examination malpractices.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, who disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the weekly FEC meeting, said the procurement of the Computer Based Test facility would enable JAMB to take over total control of its examination processes to avoid leakages that hitherto characterized the conduct of examinations by the board.
“JAMB had ran their tests for people who seek admissions to universities using computer based testing agencies and this has been attended by leakages over time and in order to stop all of that JAMB has begun to set up their own infrastructure for conducting those examinations.
“While they have realized that they had not sufficiently covered the ground they have requested, as they did today, for government to buy-up one of the CBT organization for N133million.
“They bought over the infrastructure, equipment and the building. So, the effort is that JAMB will want to take total control of all these examination processes in order to avoid leakages that had in the past attended their own examinations,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the ministry sought the council’s approval for effective implementation of Projects Made in Nigeria Exports, also known as Project-MINE Initiative.
He said the project is aimed at developing world class export oriented special economic zones across the six geo-political zones of the country.
He said the project was anchored on creating the right enabling environment for special economic zones across the country.
“We are going to do one in Lagos State Lekki Free Trade Zone Area, one in Katsina in Funtau Cotton Cluster Zone Area and another one in Abia in Enyimba City. We are also going to develop to world class standard the existing two zones that the government has in Calabar and Kano,” he said.
The minister also told journalists that the council approved pre-development work to start and develop Green Field Special Economic Zone in Akwa Ibom, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Kwara and Sokoto states with a further roll out to other locations in phase two.
He said there were budgetary allocations both in the 2017 and 2018 budgets for the implementation of the project.
“Specifically, council approved today payments to consultants totalling N2.655,785billion for various projects that would be undertaken by different consultants that would lead to the implementation of these zones.
“Actually, that is just for one set of consultant. The aggregate amount which includes another set is N3.172,431billion. But the amount that has been invested in zones are much larger.
“The 2017 budget had over N40bilion. The budget also has over N40billlion in 2018. The total budget of developing these zones would be in excess of N250billion and it will include partners.
“This is going to be done through something called The Nigerian Special Economic Zones Company Limited, which is a public private partnership. The Federal Government is going to own 20 percent of that company and AFRIEXIM bank is going to be a shareholder and other investors like the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and other international investors. It is going to be developed in such a way that it will be world class. We are going to see rapid implementation now that council approval has been obtained,” he said.
