FEC approves N8.3bn for police operational vehicles, equipment
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N8.3 billion for the purchase of operational vehicles and equipment for the Nigeria Police Force.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Dingyadi said the approvals also covered supply of drugs and medical equipment for police hospitals.
“Today, the Federal Executive Council approved for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) to award contracts for the supply of 82 operational vehicles, Toyota brand, for the efficient operation of Nigeria Police at the total cost of N2.2 billion.
“We also had approval for the supply of customised police raincoats for distribution to police across the country at the cost of N1.9 billion.
“Also customised Police boots at the cost of N576 million, we also got approval for the supply of micro first aid kits for the police at the cost of N1 billion as well as customised instructional materials for the police colleges and schools at the cost of N664 million.
“There is also the supply of drugs and medical equipment for police hospitals across the country at the cost of N2 billion, when you add all these projects, they will come up to N8.3 billion,’’ he said.
The Minister explained that the NPTF was set up as a special intervention fund to facilitate the improvement of the operations of the Nigeria Police Force in the areas of equipment, training and welfare.
On his part, the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, said he presented three items to the Council.
He said that the first was a note to council on the ongoing projects.
“The second one is a request for approval of a contract to supply and install an emergency restoration system or 330KV and 132KV transmission line for ongoing rehabilitation works in Lagos at the sum of 968,000 dollars as the offshore component; the onshore component is N7.4 million.
“The third item is variation on a subsisting contract of a sub-station in Katsina and Kano and the variation sum is only on the onshore component of the contract which has offshore and onshore components as usual with electricity contracts.
“So, it is only affecting the onshore component due to escalation of construction materials within; and the sum is N445.3 million, and the subsisting contract amount as I told you the offshore is not affected.
“The onshore, which was N939.4 million, has now moved to N1.9 billion and the Council graciously approved,’’ he said.
In the same vein, FEC has given approval for the NNPC to enter into agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, briefed State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Sylva said that the project was still at the point of the front end engineering design after which the cost would be determined.
The pipeline would traverse 15 West African countries to Morocco and Spain.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented three memos to Council.
“The first memo, the Council approved for NNPC Ltd to execute a MoU with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.
“This gas pipeline is to take gas to 15 West African countries and to Morocco and through Morocco to Spain and Europe,’’ he said.
The Minister said that the council also approved the construction of a switchgear room and installation of power distribution cables and equipment for the Nigeria oil and gas park in Ogbia, Bayelsa, in the sum of N3.8billion.
He said that the park was to support local manufacturing of components for the oil and gas industry.
Moreover, Sylva said that FEC approved various contracts for the construction of an access road with bridges to the Brass Petroleum Product Depot in Inibomoyekiri in Brass Local Government in the sum of N11 Billion plus 7.5 per cent VAT.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was proposed in a December 2016 agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines) (ONHYM).
The pipeline would connect Nigerian gas to every coastal country in West Africa (Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania), ending at Tangiers, Morocco, and Cádiz, Spain.
