By Amos Aar
THE BENUE State Government, through the Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, has officially launched the bidding process for the construction and upgrade of eleven public secondary schools to model status across the state’s three senatorial zones.
According to a statement by Akaha Sule, Media Aide to the commissioner of Education and Knowledge Management, Dr Frederick Ikyaan, the bid opening ceremony, which took place last Friday at the Ministry’s headquarters, Makurdi, was a move by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration towards transforming public education infrastructure in the state.
The statement further noted that the schools’ upgrade is part of the state government’s broader agenda to raise educational standards through the establishment of well-equipped modern learning structures.
Presiding over the exercise, the Permanent Secretary for Secondary and Tertiary Education, Mrs. Nambativ Helen Zeramo, stressed the importance of due process and transparency.
She assured stakeholders that the project would be executed with the highest level of integrity and compliance with procurement laws.
“This is not just a routine exercise. We are laying the foundation for quality education, and there will be no shortcuts,” Sule quoted the permanent secretary to have said.
Also speaking, the Director of Administration and Supply, Mr. Nic Joko, reiterated the Ministry’s zero-tolerance stance on compromise, while the Procurement Desk Officer, Pastor Samuel Yange, provided an overview of the bidding guidelines and technical requirements.
The process was closely monitored by representatives from key oversight bodies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), represented by Francis Okoh, and the Benue State Public Procurement Commission (BSPPC), represented by Ajigah Francis. Several representatives of pre-qualified construction firms were also in attendance.
At the end of the exercise, participating contractors expressed satisfaction with the level of transparency, unanimously endorsing the continuation of the evaluation by the technical committee. The committee is expected to announce the successful bidders after completing its assessments.
The model school initiative targets educational institutions in all three senatorial zones of the state. Schools earmarked for upgrade in Zone A include Government Secondary School, Lessel; Government Secondary School, Vandeikya; and Government Science and Technical College, Zaki-Biam.
In Zone B, the selected schools are Government Secondary School, Gboko; Government Secondary School, Buruku; and Government Girls’ College, Makurdi. Additionally, a brand-new Government Secondary School will be constructed in Naka town.
Zone C will benefit from upgrades at Government Day Secondary School, Otukpo; Government Science and Technical College, Otukpa; Government Secondary School, Ugbokpo; and Government Secondary School, Ito in Obi Local Government Area.
According to Mr Sule, the eleven schools have been divided into project lots for which three companies have been pre-qualified. The final selection of contractors will be based on the committee’s evaluation of their technical and financial submissions.
National Record had on February 9, reported Benue Government’s plans to establish 11 technical colleges in each federal constituency as part of efforts to enhance skills acquisition and technical education.
