Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, after about six hours, approved contracts totaling N47 billion for road projects in the country, including redesign and reconstruction of the Aba/Port-Harcourt section of the Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, told State House Correspondents after the meeting that the contract for the Aba-Port Harcourt section amounted to N6.3 billion, N19.392 billion for the 44.625 kilometers Baban Lamba-Sharam Road and N22 billion for 81 kilometers Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Road.

Fashola, throwing more light on the three approvals his ministry got said, “The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing got approval for three memos.

“One was for Baban Lamba-Sharam Road in Plateau state for the contraction of 44.625 kilometers for N19.392 billion.

“The second was for Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Road 81 kilometers. That road was first awarded in year 2000 and it has since been left uncompleted because they want no budgetary provisions for it.

“This administration in trying to move this contractor to site stated  the revision of the rate. So the revised rate were brought to council today and a revision of  N22 billion was approved for the 81 kilometers  road, bringing the total contract price to N56.701 billion.

“The third approval was for the section four of the Enugu Port Harcourt Road, the part between Abia and Port Harcourt, particularly in Port Harcourt that has been problematic and has failed severally.

“We have a contractor there but we needed to change the design because of the storm water drainage needs and the high water tables there so that the road does not fail.

“So that requires a revision of the scope of work to include retaining side lanes and also drainage facilities in the sum of  N6.309 billion.”

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, also announced the Council approved the dredging of Warri seaport in Delta State and refurbishment of its navigational facilities at a cost of N13 billion.

Managing Director of NPA, Mrs. Hadiza Bala Usman, who led senior officials of the organisation to the Villa to defend the proposal, explained to newsmen that the dredging of the Escravos channel of the seaport would improve the fortunes of Warri port and expand the utilisation of our Eastern seaports.

She said that the NPA had also reached an advanced stage towards dredging the Calabar Port, disclosing that previous contracts were terminated for not going through the relevant procurement processes.

“We believe in the need to ensure that all ports locations are given the seamless access by providing dredging works and that is what we are here to do today”, she stated, noting that in doing this and other projects, “we have been able to execute transparency and elimination of corrupt practices.”

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu said  FEC approved the establishment of the Nigeria Army University in Biu, Borno State.

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The Minister of the Interior, Abdurahman Danbazzau, FEC approved for the upgrade of infrastructure at the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano at a cost of N234 million.

He explained that, said the new infrastructure will include two faculty buildings, cafeteria, cadets’ mess, and others required to meet minimum academic requirements for relevant accreditation of degree courses in the academy as stipulated by national Universities Commission (NUC).

Water Resources Minister, Suleiman Adamu, disclosed that regressing urban water supply is  hampering Nigeria’s attainment of MDGs, hence the FEC approved a declaration of emergency in the water and sanitation sector as well as increased funding for the sector, following an action plan submitted for consideration by the Ministry.

He said, “We presented a Policy memo highlighting the crisis facing water and sanitization in the country and the need for government to take action.

“We highlight the fact that urbane water supply is regressing, access to improve sanitation has also decreased over time that we have not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals and that works services in the rural areas are unsustainable, and spending on water sector has declined by .7% to .72% of the GDP in 2010.

“We submitted a memo to council to approve an action plan on how to address these issues. We had three prayers for the council to approve the action plan: to declare a state of emergency on water and sanitation sector; to approve the establishment of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund for the country. This fund will be one that federal, states and international donors can put in money so that we can begin to address the crisis water and sanitation sector in the country. We also requested that henceforth the budget for water and sanitation in the country to be significantly increased so that we will be able to face these challenges. Council accepted our prayers and we will move on.”

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, announced that the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, got FEC commendation for her presentation on the activities of the Ministry since 2015.

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, also presented his Ministry’s activities in the past three years; and an inter-ministerial committee was thereafter raised to advise government on how the Ministry and its parastatals can deliver more on their mandates.

Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who briefed on behalf of the ministries of information and women affairs, said, “The minister of women affairs briefed council on women empowerment programme undertaken, capacity development  for women, promotion of human rights, fighting violence against women, rehabilitation of victims of gender violence, promoting the health of women and children, and of course the efforts on the rescue of Chibok and Dapchi girls. Council commended the women affairs ministry for a job well done.

“The Minister of Information spoke on achievements made which include bringing down the wall that screens out Nigerians in the military engagement in the northeast, the role played in the prompt release of the Dapchi girls and have instituted town hall meetings, 11 of which have been held so far across the country. He said the town hall meetings are ways of getting feedback from the country.

“The minister  also spoke about the national sensitization campaigns on insecurity in the country. He spoke about the institution of regular interaction with Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists and other relevant bodies.

“He also spoke on the interaction with International Press Institute that are coming into Nigeria for their World Congress in June this year. He also said they have made progress with the digital switchover campaigns.

“At the end of the day, the council decided to Set up an inter-ministerial committee to fashion out a marshal plan for the communications for the ministry to sit down and advise government on how policies and programmers can be better disseminated. In particular to advise government on how the ministry and its agencies can deliver on its own mandate.

“The ministers on the committee are finance, agriculture, budget and national planning, power, works and housing, transportation, communications, Information and Culture, petroleum and Niger Delta.”