President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a total of N4,045,197,340 billion for the Ministry of Aviation to purchase a high-end property in Abuja for office space.
The funds will also be used to purchase specialised equipment to help the Accident Investigation Bureau AIB do its job in the event of an aviation accident.
President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, and Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed made the announcement.
"On behalf of the Ministries of Aviation, Power, and Agriculture, I am reporting."
The council approved a memo from the Honorable Minister of Aviation authorising the award of a contract to Mssers Sinecon Limited for the establishment and deployment of Advanced Report Generation Utility Engine web-based reporting tools in the amount of N553, 575, 000, inclusive of 7.5 percent, with a 12-month delivery period.
The Accident Investigation Bureau will be able to establish and develop an advanced report generation system with the help of this technology.
"Both authorities and information recipients will profit greatly from this method. It will be hosted on a single database, lowering agency production costs and providing technical methods for users to search across government agencies to convey accident investigation findings in a modern web-based manner, rather than the present traditional written format published on the web.
"Over time, the web reporting tool will encourage investigators to provide more visual content, with an integrated option to develop 3D flight animation to convey the history of flights hosted on plane sciences services in Ottawa, Canada."
"The second message was the easiest to understand. The council approved N3,491,622,340 for the Ministry of Aviation to purchase a property at Plot 426, Cadastral Zone, directly across from the Corporate Affairs Commission.
"With this land, the ministry will be able to house many of its agencies in the same facility." Many government departments currently function from rented facilities, which is a financial strain on the government and prevents effective coordination of activities.
The necessary procedures and legal searches were completed, and the purchase was approved today by the council," Lai said on behalf of Hadi Sirika, the Aviation Minister.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power presented the FEC with two memos, both of which were approved.
The first memo requested clearance for an increase in the original contract value for the building of a 132 KV double circuit transmission line between Yola, Song, Gombe, Mubi, and Gulako.
It is a 232-kilometer transmission line that is deemed critical to the Transmission Company of Nigeria's ability to improve power generated by GENCOs.
"It's a variant," Lai explained. The contract had previously been awarded, but due to a lack of cash and other problems, it had to be revised from the original USD $16 million plus N1.248 billion to the current $16,698,000 + N2,337,643,640.
"The Minister of Power's second memo also requested authorisation for the repair and refurbishing of defective nine 330 KV, 13 132 KV, and 26 33 KV sets."
Crompton holds circuit breakers for the Nigerian Transmission Company. Some of these circuit breakers are old and in need of replacement, and the total cost is N409,089,841. And this is to assist the TCN network."
A note seeking approval for a national agriculture technology innovation policy was also discussed at FEC.
" It is a policy that tries to improve synergy and alignment with MDAs in order to address insufficient policy implementation coordination.
It will address the issue of mandate fragmentation and MDA rivalry in the agricultural sector. It will aid livestock development by supporting the creation of functioning ranch models, grazing reserves, and integrated meat and dairy processing, among other things.
"By reorganising, unbundling, and enhancing agricultural research and training systems, the policy will also help enhance knowledge generation and transfer." The initiative will also provide access to mechanisation through tractors and hire schemes.
It will also have an influence on the provision of high-quality extension services, resulting in increased technology adoption to strengthen the value chain for high-quality crops, fisheries, and aquaculture, among other things," Lai said on behalf of Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abubakar.