The Enugu State government has approved the contract for streetlights in some satellite towns to Messrs Vec Tek Nigeria Limited, for N522.39 million.
The approval followed a memorandum presented by the Commissioner for Rural Development, Gab Onuzulike.
Beneficiaries of the first phase include Nsukka.
The government said the initiative would boost the economy, reduce rural-urban drift and check criminal activities.
Commissioner for Information Dr. Godwin Ikechukwu Udeuhele, who addressed reporters in Enugu after the State Executive Council (Exco) meeting, said the government approved the constitution and inauguration of the State Technology and Innovation Council (SSTIC), a statutory requirement by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
Its constitution, he noted, was “fundamentally important to the realisation of the ministry’s set objectives”.
Udeuhele said the government sought to establish the “needs-gap-requirement scenario that reflects on the essential attribute of the national science, technology and innovation policy” as explained by the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Greg Nnaji, who initiated the memorandum.
The Information commissioner said the Exco also approved N49.5 million for the procurement of dialysis machines, and N265.51 million for priority projects to complete the Medical Diagnostic Centre at the GRA in Enugu.
He said the Exco approved the payment of salaries for public servants and pensioners, following the successful completion of biometrics and the submission of the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s report.
Udeuhele added that the council approved the appointment of a firm, Niceken Logistic Limited, to collect the state’s revenue on quarrying, mining of gravels, laterite and sand.
According to him, the council directed the attorney-general and commissioner for Justice to generate a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), in line with conditions in the committee’s review report between the Ministry of Environment, Mineral Resources and the firm.