FEC approves N23bn projects for petroleum, power, police Ministries
By Abimbola Abatta
The Federal Executive Council ( FEC) has approved N23.52billion for execution of projects across the ministries of Petroleum Resources, Power and Police Affairs.
The Federal Government approved the amount during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on Wednesday.
Presided over by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the FEC meeting was held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The sum of N3.81billion was approved for the construction of a switch-gear room and installation of power distribution cables and equipment for the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park in Bayelsa State.
Briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, also disclosed that the Council approved N11billion for the construction of access roads and bridges to Brass local government area of Bayelsa State.
Sylva also noted that consultations have begun for the Nigeria National Petroleum Company to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to construct the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.
The Pipeline would be the world’s longest offshore pipeline and second-largest pipeline in the world carrying gas from Nigeria to Morocco and running through at least 11 West African countries, to Spain in Europe.
According to him, “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented three memos to Council.
“The first memo, Council approved for the NNPC Ltd. to execute 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 added.
Meanwhile, 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.
On his part, Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, said the Council approved a total of N8.32billion for several projects in the Ministry.
Dingyadi said, “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 supply of customised police raincoat 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.”
The Minister explained that the NPTF was set up as a special intervention fund to facilitate the improvement of the operations of Nigeria Police Force in the areas of equipment, training and welfare.
For the Ministry of Power, the Council approved the supply and installation of emergency restoration system or 330KV and 132KV transmission line for the ongoing rehabilitation works in Lagos at the sum of 968,000 dollars (N402.2 million) as the offshore component while the onshore component is N7.4 million.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who revealed this, added that the council approved a variation on a subsisting contract for a substation in Katsina and a line base in Kumbotso in Kano.
According to him, the variation sum is only on the onshore component of the contract which has offshore and onshore components as usual with electricity contracts.
He added, “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.”
