On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) authorized the expenditure of $984.7 million to purchase maintenance equipment for the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s workers will have accommodations thanks to a N5 billion release that the council recently authorized (NDLEA).

At the conclusion of the FEC meeting in Abuja, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, confirmed this to State House reporters.

Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, attended the briefing as well.

According to Sambo, the NRC equipment is intended exclusively for the rail connection that connects Nigeria with the neighboring Niger Republic at Kano-Maradi.

He declared: “A firm that is also the contractor managing the railway project was given the contract in the amount of $984,722,302.05 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a completion time of four years.

The minister further revealed that a further N510 million had been granted by the council for the purchase of specially designed Fire Service vehicles for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The Federal Ministry of Transportation also sent the council a note on behalf of two of its agencies, Sambo said.

The Nigerian Ports Authority was the initial organization, and its goal was to ensure that the building contract was awarded.

The delivery of four customized Fire Service search and rescue vehicles for Rivers Ports in Port Harcourt, the Lagos Port Complex, Tin Can Island Port, and Marina Headquarters in Lagos was also given approval by the Council.

“The Council also studied the Memorandum and authorized the award of the contract in the amount of N510, 934,600 million inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a nine-month completion term as suggested and assessed by the Bureau of Public Procurement.”

Malami, on his part, said that the council had authorized spending N5 billion to build homes for NDLEA officers and men.

He continued by saying that the agreement will better protect the agency’s employees’ lives and property.

“As you are aware, the NDLEA has stepped up its ongoing and relentless campaign against narcotics cartels and barons. The NDLEA had an impact on 18,940 arrests during the first three quarters of 2023, and in fact, narcotics with an estimated value of over N40 billion were seized.

“Unfortunately, the gains that were noted translated into never-before-seen threats and assaults on agency workers, including officers, men, and other ranks.

The Nigerian government must now assess whether it can implement security measures that would provide NDLEA personnel and members the appropriate level of safety, the AGF said.

The post The Nigerian Government Grants $984.7 million for NRC equipment. first appeared on MINIECHAT.