FEC approves N3.070bn for NCDC, N8.649bn for Enugu-Onitsha Road

The Federal Executive Council yesterday approved N3.070bn for six contracts for the purchase of various laboratory equipment by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) across the country.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, told reporters that this was to strengthen the work of the NCDC in various parts of the country, “not only for COVID-19, but for any other disease outbreak of public interest in the future.”

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the council approved the revised estimate total cost of the Enugu-Onitsha Highway now put at N8.649bn.

Fashola said the 22-kilometre section of the 100 kilometer road was being handled by Niger Construction in order to expedite conclusion of works.

The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, said council approved a memo on the reviewed National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan 2020 to 2043.

He said the maiden master plan was from 2014 to 2043 “and embedded in it as a living document is that it ought to be reviewed every five years. There are about seven asset classes that are contained in the master plan. This is in the areas of transportation, energy, ICT, agriculture, water and mining, social infrastructure, housing and regional development, security and vital registration.

“The maiden edition didn't have the macroeconomic framework embedded in it but with the reviewed update that has been approved today by the council, it includes macroeconomic framework. It also allows for the establishment of the National Council on Infrastructure under the chairmanship of the vice president to provide policy direction and infrastructurerelated materials.”