By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Determined to win the war against illicit trafficking in drugs within and outside the country, the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved a whopping sum of
N985,000,002.40 for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to procure and install four Body Dual View Scanners Solution with x-ray management software at four Nigeria’s international airports.
The airports where the scanners will be installed are Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; Port Harcourt International Airport; Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano respectively.
This information was made public by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Wednesday at Presidential Villa, Abuja while briefing State House Correspondents after the weekly FEC meeting.
According to him: “There was an approval for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to procure and install four Body Dual View Scanners Solution with x-ray management software at Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Kano Airports at N985,000,002.40. You know that NDLEA has been doing wonderful things in recent times.
Now, it has this approval to install and commission four full Body Dual View Scanners Solution with X-ray management software at those four airports; Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Kano”.
The Presidential Spokesman also told journalists that FEC gave approval to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to procure operational vehicles at the cost of N187,469,669.2.
Adesina argued that the operational vehicles are meant “to reduce carnage on our roads and to meet its goals of reducing accidents by at least 15% and fatalities by 20%”.
Said he: “So, the operational vehicles are needed by the Federal Road Safety Commission to achieve that goal of reducing accidents by 15% and fatalities by 20%. Contracts for those vehicles were approved by the Federal Executive Council”.
Adesina further stated that the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) was also given approval by FEC to acquire a permanent Head Office Building for the sum of N537,000,000 to be used as its head office.
According to him, “NEITI has been in a rented place. Now, it has an approval to acquire a property for its head office”.
He also disclosed that the Ministry of Health, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in particular also got approval to procure some vehicles for its use. He did not mention how much the agency received.
Meanwhile, Adesina told State House Correspondents that FEC gave approval to the Ministry of Water Resources for the revised estimated total cost for supervision consultancy contract of Ile-Ife Multipurpose Dam Project in Osun State.
Said he: “For the Ministry of Water Resources, there was approval for the revised estimated total cost for supervision consultancy contract of Ile-Ife Multipurpose Dam Project in Osun State.
“Those are some of the approvals at the meeting today”, he concluded.
