… as health authorities plan house-to-house search for meningitis victims in Zamfara, Sokoto
Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved contracts in the sum of N9.1 billion for projects under the ministry of transportation.
Briefing newsmen after the weekly council meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi, said the approval came following three memos he presented at the council meeting.
Council approved the lease of fast going vehicles for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to enable it perform its responsibility on the high sea.
The minister said the “cost for the lease for NIMASA is N3.8 billion for the next one year.” Approval was also given for the procurement of 56 vehicles for the Nigerian Immigration Service at a cost of N358 million.
Briefing newsmen alongside the ministers of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, and health, Isaac Adewole, Amaechi said the council also approved the variation of the cost for the construction of a headquarters for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due to the fluctuation of foreign exchange.
“The last was the change in the cost of construction of the EFCC headquarters due to foreign exchange fluctuation. This is N5 billion,” he said.
The contract was awarded to Messer Julius Berger Nigeria on November 27, 2010, at a total cost of N18,867,783,615.00, for an initial 36 months completion period.
A total of N7.912 billion was budgeted for the project in the 2016 budget, while N6.129 billion has been slated for the same project in the 2017 budget.
Meanwhile, FEC also received a briefing from the minister of health, Isaac Adewole, on the status of the meningitis outbreak. The minister said a total of 813 deaths was recorded as of April 25, but it was expected that the number would drop with the commencement of rainfall in the country.
He also disclosed plans to dispatch medical teams to Sokoto and Zamfara states for a house-to-house search to help with active case findings.
“We want to do house to house searches so that we can bring those with meningitis out for treatment. We are sending teams to each local government. There will a team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lab scientist and the state government will support each team.
“The state governments have promised logistics and transport to move them around and bring the patients to health facilities” he explained.
