Monday’s special meeting of the Federal Executive Council, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House in Abuja, considered forty out of forty-seven memoranda from various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
After the FEC meeting, the Aviation Minister, Senator Hadi Sirika, briefed reporters and confirmed the number of memos presented to the FEC. He also reaffirmed the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to ensuring that the proposed national airline, Nigeria Air, is operational by the 29th of this month.
His words: “Yes, we are on track, and by the grace of God, it will fly before President Buhari leaves office. We are on track, we are on track, and it will fly by May 29.”
In addition, he stated that the federal government authorised N3,197,127,22.72 for the purchase and installation of Taxi Waylights and Photometric Pattern in three airports as well as other equipment throughout the nation.
The Minister explained that the apparatus would be installed at the airports in Port Harcourt, Lagos, and Abuja, stating, “Therefore, something very significant has occurred in the world of civil aviation today.” The aviation leasing company was established and endorsed by the council as part of our strategic plan.”
“A second memo was also a contract for procurement, installation of taxi waylights in the system and photometric pattern in Port Harcourt, Lagos, and Abuja, as well as other equipment throughout the nation,” he said.And this contract for the photometric and taxi waylights system has a total value of N3,197,127,22.72 billion, a duration of eight months, and the contractor is Mssrs KSR3 Global Ledger Limited.”
Sirika stated, while displaying the approval, that civil aviation entrepreneurs in Nigeria will have access to this equipment at affordable prices, which is part of the road map, adding that the road map is progressively approaching 100 percent completion.
Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu stated that the council authorised the hiring of a consultant to oversee the Dadin-kowa water scheme for the first five years at a cost of N605 million.
Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, stated that the Federal Government has observed an increase in enrollment in schools across the nation, but she did not provide specific figures.
According to her, the government’s goal is to enrol every child who is not in school by 2030.
In addition, she stated that the government has allocated over 14 billion naira to train N-Power recipients.
She also reported that the Council had approved a policy for the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), which aims to resolve education, health, social protection, and agriculture issues.
Also engaging the press, Minister of State (Transportation) Demola Adegiroye stated that the council had approved N1.3 billion for the purchase of furniture for the newly acquired headquarters of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Security Agency (NIMASA) in Lagos.