By Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s federal executive council, (FEC), has approved N21.1 billion for execution of projects in the aviation and education ministries, as well as four federal agencies.
The development was disclosed to newsmen at the end of the FEC virtual meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa,Abuja.
Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, who addressed newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, said the council approved four memoranda for the aviation ministry worth N16.6 billion to enhance the execution of four projects across the country.
Dwelling further on the the projects, Sirika said the contracts include, construction and post construction servicing of Wachakal Airport in Yobe worth N6.3 billion and N219.8 million respectively; procurement of eight airport rescue and firefighting vehicles at the cost of N9.5 billion, while the N658.8 million balance was for the deployment of sniffer dogs to the Lagos and Abuja international airports.
Speaking on why the Wachakal Airport was selected as a major memorandum for approval, the minister explained that the airport is one of the ministry’s objectives to develop the aviation sector, ensure connectivity within all regions, and improve on security architecture.
Also addressing newsmen, Emeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education, said the council approved a memorandum for the ministry in favour of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Delta State, for the construction of facilities, including hostels, administrative blocks, and a new library at the cost of N2.7 billion.
Meanwhile, Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, who anchored the media briefing, said the council approved contracts worth N1.7 billion for four federal agencies including, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC); National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC); Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Adesina further disclosed that N187.5 million was approved for the procurement of operational vehicles for the FRSC, N537 million approved for NEITI’s permanent office building for its head office, and N985 million for the procurement and installation of dual body scanners for four international airports in the country
