NEWS
FEC Approves N19bn for FCT, Transportation, Aviation projects
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved over N19billion for various projects for the Ministries of Transportation, Aviation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Aviation, Hadi Sirika and FCT, Muhammed Bello made these known at the end of the Council meeting which was chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Wednesday.
The Minister of Information said the five memos presented by the Minister of transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, were approved by the Council.
He said the approvals included N639million for modular tamping machine for Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), N247million for procurement of a rig-stacker for National Inland Waterway Authority and N166billion for two power cars to be used on the narrow gauge by the NRC.
The Council also approved N3.5billion for the removal of wrecks along the Badagry Creek from Tincan Island to Navy Town in Lagos State as well as N902million for the construction of 1000 sitting capacity international conference centre for the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, Kaduna state.
“The first memo is actually a memo in which the minister sought the approval of Council for the award of contract for the design, manufacture, supply testing and commissioning of one modular tamping machine at the sum of N639,150,932 for the use of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. The machine is for immediate use in Agbor, Delta.
“The second memo was a memo asking for Council’s approval for the award of contract for the procurement of one rig-stacker, in the sum of N247,062,708. This is for the benefit of the National Inland Waterway Authority.
“The third memo is one seeking Council’s approval for the award of contract for the design, manufacture, testing and commissioning of two power cars to be used on the narrow gauge by the Nigerian Railway Corporation, at a sum of N1.662 billion.
“There’s another memo by the Minister of Transportation, which sought Council’s approval for the award of contract for the removal of wrecks along the Badagry Creek from Tincan Island to Navy Town Lagos State, in the sum of N3,587,955,266.40 and it’s supposed to be completed within 25 months.
“This contract will benefit the National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
“Finally, the Minister of Transportation sought Council’s approval for the award of contract for the construction of a 1000 sitting capacity international conference centre for the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, in the sum of N902,329,463.33,’’ he said.
According to the minister, the project is to be completed within 24 weeks, saying the NITT, being the apex transport and logistics management development institute in Nigeria and the West African sub-region, is desirous of constructing a 1000 sitting capacity international conference centre to meet its growing population.
Sirika also said that the Council approved N10.5billion for the provision of Airport Management Solution for the international airports of Abuja, and that of Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu
He said the approved amount included 7.5per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) while the project would be completed in 12 months.
The minister said: “Today in Council, the Ministry of Aviation had a memorandum that was approved and this is a contract for the provision of Airport Management Solution for the international airports of Abuja, and that of Lagos and Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu. It is awarded in the sum of N10,594,057,618.20.
“This Airport Management Solution was earlier being provided only in Lagos and Abuja. This is now extended to all the five airports and what it will be doing; one is common use terminal equipment, which is cute systems that are required for sharing airport resources in accordance with requirement of IATA recommendation 1797.
`This allows flexible shared resources for check-in and boarding, such as servers, workstations, associated peripherals between all airlines and handling agents present at the airport. This will be for all the five airports and baggage drop.
“This service, as explained, will also be in all of the airports, which makes it faster and quicker for passenger processing.
“Another service to be provided is Local Departure Control Systems. This is aimed at airlines that are still using manual procedures like locals, charters, domestic,etc. The system secures and accelerates these operations while ensuring better service for passengers.’’
According to Sirika, the system also accepts mobile phone boarding pass or home printed boarding pass.
“Then Baggage Reconciliation System also, where baggage can be tracked from when you arrive and drop your baggage automatically it goes into the system and onto the aircraft itself.
“So, this will eliminate the issue of missing baggage or mix up of baggage to arrive at another location not intended.
“Then another thing is Electronic e-gates. These are access controlled gates to restrict only passengers and staff access to designated areas. The e-gates provide a platform to monitor and control access into the boarding area. This is new and not part of the systems that were being provided for Lagos and Abuja.
On his part, the FCT Minister disclosed that the Council approved N686million for the provision of engineering infrastructure to a section of Asokoro District known as Abubakar Koko Street.
He added that the Council approved N1.3billion for the construction of a 14.7 kilometres dedicated power line from the existing newly completed Kukwaba 132/33kv transmission station in Kukwaba District of Abuja.
“During today’s Council meeting, two memos presented by the FCT Ministry were approved. The first memo is the approval for the contract for the provision of engineering infrastructure to a section of Asokoro District known as Abubakar Koko Street.
“This contract was approved for Datum Construction Nigeria Limited at a contract amount of N686,796,482.14 and it has a completion period of six months.
“The second contract approved is the contract for the construction of a 14.7 kilometre dedicated power line from the existing newly completed Kukwaba 132/33kv transmission station in Kukwaba District of Abuja.
“This is at the sum of N1,398,901,681.27 and awarded to Messrs Olivec Ventures Nigeria Limited and for a completion period of 12 months.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, revealed that the Council approved N316.5million for the second phase of Project Lighthouse.
According to her, the Project Lighthouse is a data engine that collects, integrates and analyses data from revenue generating agencies in order to create insightful information for improved decision making.
“One major area that we have witnessed remarkable progress is in terms of recovery of debts owed to government. Generally, revenue loopholes have been aided by poor information sharing enforcement.
“So this Protect Lighthouse shows us that many companies and individuals who owe government agencies have refused to honour their obligations yet are still being engaged and transacted with, and even being paid on government payment platforms like Treasury Single Account.
“In 2019, the ministry issued a directive to all ministries, departments and agencies to aggregate and send to the ministry a list of all debtors and their outstanding amounts that are owed to government agencies. This we have put together in one central fund that we call Project Lighthouse.
“Since that time we have been able to aggregate N5.2 trillion worth of debts that are being owed to government by third parties and as at today we have been able to recover N49.7 billion of this amount through the efforts of works we’ve been carrying out through Project Lighthouse and we’re still compiling.
“Project Lighthouse has brought together data from the FIRS, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Corporate Affairs Commission, as well as data from BVN in one central pool.’’ (NAN)
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
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