The Executive Chairman, Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Ekiti, Prof. Femi Akinwumi has charged contractors handling the board’s projects to always use quality materials and abide by project specifications.
Akinwumi gave the charge on Monday, in Ado-Ekiti, while overseeing the opening of tenders for the 2019 UBEC/SUBEB intervention projects in Ekiti.
Akinwumi also charged the contractors to always endeavor to give value for money collected on projects.
According to him, the huge investment by government in the basic education sector can only have the desired impact if contractors use quality materials and abide by project specifications.
Akinwumi disclosed that the administration of Gov. Kayode Fayemi had paid over N7.3 billion as counterpart funds to UBEC since it returned to office in October 2018.
He described the government intervention as responsible for the massive turnaround that was going on in public primary and junior secondary schools in the state where nearly 780 projects were nearing completion.
Akinwumi assured that the the award of the UBEC/SUBEB projects would be done in a fair and transparent manner.
The SUBEB boss also promised that the board would vigorously monitor and supervise the forthcoming projects like never witnessed before .
He disclosed that the board had procured Vernier Slide Calipers for its Technical Officers for the measurement of the gauge of roofing sheets to be used in subsequent SUBEB projects in the state.
Akinwumi said the purchase of the item was to curb usage of poor roofing materials which had been major problems of UBEC/SUBEB projects implementation in the past.
The SUBEB chairman warned that the board would not hesitate to blacklist and recover funds released to any contractor who executed shoddy projects under the 2019 UBEC/SUBEB intervention project.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the board, Mr Oluwadare Ajayi, disclosed that UBEC regulations and relevant provisions of the Ekiti State Procurement Act would be strictly adhered to in the tender processing and contract award exercise.
Also speaking, Mr Joshua Arema, the UBEC Coordinator in the state, urged contractors who would handle the projects to ensure that they used only quality materials in the execution of the projects.
The ceremony which was attended by SUBEB Commissioners and Management was observed by representatives of UBEC, the State Ministry of Budget and Planning, Ministry of Justice, the State Bureau of Public Procurement and Association of Indigenous Contractors amongst others.