Ekiti State Government on Wednesday said it has spent N6.4 billion on the just completed 1.3 kilometre overhead bridge in Ado Ekiti.
TBI Africa reports that the State Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, said at a news conference on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti that the amount was far below the figures being peddled about by the opposition.
Giving a breakdown of the expenditure, Ojo said the cost only increased from the initial estimate of N5.2billion to N6.4b to accommodate additional expenses that were not captured in the initial budget for the project.
He said this included the extension of the bridge, beautification of the area, construction of alternative roads as well as payment of compensation to owners of properties that gave way for the project.
Ojo said the project was part of the administration’s urbanisation programme, adding that the bridge would ease traffic flow and decrease time wasted by commuters.
He said the state government would continue to work towards improving the lots of the people in spite of the financial constraints.
The commissioner also said government had set a benchmark of N400 million as its monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to ensure execution of its projects.
He appealed to the federal government to refund the expenses incurred by the state government for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of federal roads in the state.
