By Henry Umoru

ABUJA—WORRIED over the slow implementation of the 2010 budget by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, the Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed yesterday gave two weeks ultimatum to all the agencies to complete their procurement process or else be held liable.

The Minister noted that the performance of the procurement process, positively or otherwise reflects on the budget performance, as well as project execution and it must be taken very seriously.

Senator Mohammed who spoke tough at yesterday’s FCT Procurement meeting, warned that he was not prepared to take any excuse for failure, just as he stressed that the performance of any government was hinged on budget implementation which he would ensure that his administration achieved.

According to him, all the agencies and parastatals including the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) must brace up to the challenge by resolving all administrative and technical issues connected with the procurement process thereby taking FCT to the next level.

Senator Mohammed who noted that because of the importance attached to this, all heads of the Procurement Departments/Units of the all the FCT Administration agencies, as well as the FCDA Executive Secretary and mandate secretaries will be meeting every two weeks to appraise the situation with a view to remedying any grey area.

He also directed the FCDA Executive Secretary, Engineer Muhammad Sani Alhassan to liaise with the contractors handling the rehabilitation and expansion of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Murtala Mohammed expressways to hasten jobs on the road to enable the FCT Administration commence the re-planting of trees destroyed as a result of the project and the activities of used car dealers.