Abuja — Federal government yesterday ordered all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to immediately furnish it with their performances for 2010, as government begins assessment of the budget performance for the 2010 fiscal year.

Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. Labaran Maku said this yesterday while briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said the order became necessary to enable the federal government concentrate on the assessment of the performance of the 2010 budget, as well as the formulation of new policies ahead for 2011, from the next FEC meeting.

He said: "The FEC at its meeting presided over by President Jonathan took far reaching decisions. Today (Wednesday) marks the end of contract awards under the 2010 budget, so as from the next FEC meeting we will no longer award contracts. All the MDAs have been mandated to submit their 2010 performance to enable us concentrate of policy formulations".

Daily Champion gathered that the performance assessment is to enable government re-appraise its priorities and concentrate on those areas that lacked adequate attention under the 2010 budget.

Maku said: "Every MDA have been asked to prepare a progress report on all contracts so far awarded, so that Nigerians can see the state of the contracts and the progress made in all the various sectors into which we have committed a lot of resources.

"From subsequent meetings, you are now going to hear the reports of all the contracts. It is not just enough to award contracts; we also want to know what has been achieved and the level of the performance of the2010 budget".

He said as part of President Jonathan's commitments to improving agriculture in the northern part of the country, he has ordered the completion of all dam projects currently going on in the area, including the abandoned Ganye dam in Adamawa state and the Kontagora dam in Niger State

The minister announced the award of contracts for the completion of the Hadeija Valley Irrigation project in Jigawa state, which was first awarded in 2001 but was abandoned by the previous government at the cost of N5.908 billion.

The project, he said, was abandoned at 80 per cent completion when the contractor requested for an upward review of the contract sum to N10, 333, 167, 334.42, representing an augmentation of N4, 424,923,799.38.

He said the project when completed will provide irrigation in two stages covering 12,500 hectors

The meeting also announced the award of contract for the establishment of E- Passport Public Key Directory (PKD) which will make it easier to verify personal data information contained in the current E-Passport both locally and internationally.

"Other benefits of the PKD include provision of fast and secured means of validating e-passport; easy detection of compromised or forged documents, making it easy for citizens to travel internationally, and allowing states to improve security at international borders".

The contract for the new PKD E-passport project is expected the gulp N229.125 million.

Earlier, Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, also briefed State House Correspondents on the successful launch of the $500 million debut Eurobond offering, which he said will serve as benchmark for private borrowers; including such as banks, oil and gas companies and manufacturers.