Kwara opens bidding for 2020 education enhancement project

Forum 7 months ago

Kwara opens bidding for 2020 education enhancement project

Kwara State Government has opened bidding process for the 2020 FGN-UBEC/SUBEB projects aimed at enhancing the state’s primary and secondary schools.

The state Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, called on successful bidders to execute the jobs according to the specifications and in line with the Bureau of Public Procurement Act of year 2007.

The 2020 bidding, encompasses seven categories, including the construction of classrooms with offices; V.I.P toilets with deep wells; classroom remodeling; provision of students furniture (2602 Units); provision of teachers furniture (480 Sets); water & sanitation; and provision of ECCDE plastic furniture (376 sets).

During the bid opening ceremony in Ilorin, the Governor represented by his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi said that the projects seek to improve the educational infrastructure and boost the local economy.

“Dear bidders, as you all know that every competition is bound to produce the winner, I sincerely implore the victors of today’s bid opening to ensure that no stone is left unturned in ensuring that the projects allotted meet up to the prescribed standard. We will not accept anything that falls below the standard advertised or paid for.”

“Besides improving educational infrastructure, what we are doing also comes with huge socioeconomic benefits for our state. I believe that these projects will not only improve the level of basic education in the State, it will also give job opportunities to artisans who will work at the project sites.

Contractors are implored to patronize local artisans and suppliers in an attempt to deliver high-quality jobs.” He said

AbdulRazaq noted that the pride of all developed countries of the world depends largely on the structure, status and achievement of their education sector, adding this necessitates the need to put all machineries in place to bring the education level in the state to an enviable height.

He said his administration will not relent in its efforts to do everything humanly possible to bring back the memories of good times in Kwara.

He also commended the Kwara SUBEB for successfully completing the 2014-2019 project, urging them to ensure quality supervision and monitoring of the ongoing projects to ensure value for the money.

Acknowledging the contribution of the Bureau of Public Procurement and the state State Public Procurement Agency, the governor, affirmed the government’s inclusivity and plans for future bids.

“We are doing everything possible to be as inclusive as possible. However, experiences have shown that things can only go round gradually. To those who may not be considered after the bids opening, I urge you to wait for the 2021 bid which will be advertised soon.

“It is important to mention that we need to properly execute all outstanding projects and be certified good before new grants are accessed. We have only just implemented the ones we accessed for a period stretching between 2014 and 2019. This explains some of the outstanding we have. The payment for 2020 matching grants shows our commitment to constantly improve the quality of education in the state,” the Governor added.

In his remarks, the Executive Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof Shehu Adaramaja, disclosed that 215 contractors bided for different categories of projects, adding that the Board followed all necessary guidelines as entrenched in the state Bureau of Public Procurement Act of 2007.

Adaramaja said the 2020 bid opening became a reality due to the effective utilisation of 2014-2019 UBEC/KWSUBEB intervention funds by the state government.

He commended Governor AbdulRazaq for his government’s commitment to prompt payment of counterpart funds including his recent approval of the 2021 counterpart funds, saying all this explains the high premium the administration places on the education sector.