FEC approves N8.6bn for construction of vaccine laboratory, others
…approves N754m for EFCC’s Command and Control Centre
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N8.6 billion for the construction of vaccine laboratory, text kits for HIV/AIDS and procurement of medical equipment.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the minister, N3.06 billion of the amount will be spent on the construction of vaccine laboratory, N1.2 billion for laboratory equipment while N4.3 billion will be used in procuring text kits for HIV/AIDS and Syphilis.
He said: “The Ministry of Health presented three memos, which were all approved. One of them was for the procurement of test kits for HIV/AIDS.
“As you all know, Nigeria has succeeded in driving down the HIV prevalence from 3 per cent to 1.3 per cent.”
He said with the nationality indicator and the impact survey carried out recently, the government was ready to conduct more tests, particularly of mothers who may be carrying HIV that could be passed on to their unborn children.
“That’s sort of called the prevention of mother to child transmission and also without routine tests that will be done on people who may have absolutely no symptom at all, but are carrying HIV virus.
“So, these test kits we are procuring and we’re also including those test kits that can also detect syphilis.
“Syphilis as you all know is another sexually transmitted disease. So, this memo was presented today and passed by the Council,” said the minister.
He further stated that the Council approved two other memos from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
“One of them was a memo that was meant to buy equipment for six laboratories in the country and the memo was also passed without any question.
“It’s to update and upgrade the laboratories of NAFDAC,” he added.
In another development, the FEC has approved N754 million for the construction of a Command and Control Centre and procurement of communication gadgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said: “The EFCC got approval for capital projects worth N754, 048, 161.25 and these are mainly for the supply of communication gadgets and a command and control center.
“This is to enable the EFCC to comply with modern day investigative techniques and improve its operational efficiency and support the administration of the criminal justice system in the country.’’
Shehu added that the approval was also aimed at equipping the commission with a defensive and offensive cybersecurity system.
According to the presidential aide, the Council also approved N1.5billion for the construction of a network of roads at the Federal Ocean Terminal at Onne Port in Rivers following a memo submitted by the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
He disclosed that the council also approved N161.8million as variation for the consultancy fee for the Biu Mega Water Supply project in Borno.
