FEC approves additional N665m for poultry farmers in 4 states

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved an augmentation of N665 million for the procurement of poultry equipment for displaced poultry farmers in Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Zamfara.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouk, disclosed this when she briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Wednesday.

She said: “Today, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development presented a memo to Council on behalf of National Emergency Management Agency seeking the approval of Council for the revised estimated cost and augmentation on contracts for the procurement of poultry equipment for Borno, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara States that were affected by conflicts in 2019.

“This memo was earlier approved at the council meeting of Wednesday, March 20, 2019, and the contract was not executed due to price increase and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“The contractors said they won’t be able to really execute the contract because of price increases and so we had to go back to Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) for variations.

“We got the approval of BPP and now we came to Council and presented the memo and the Council graciously approved the variation.’’

The minister, who fielded questions from the correspondents, regretted the incessant attacks on the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Reacting to the attacks on the Abagana IDP camp in Benue, which led to the death of seven persons, the minister called for the beefing up of security around IDP camps across the country.

She said that her ministry was working assiduously to alleviate the suffering of the IDPs and facilitate their return to their homes.

The minister said: “Really, a very sad development and I’m sure the security agencies are on top of it. What I can say is that there should be enhanced security around these areas where we have these incessant attacks.

“For us in the ministry, we do our best to see that these displaced people are being supported and catered for while we work towards returning them back to their communities.”

On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, announced that FEC approved a facility maintenance contract for the Nigerian Content House, Yenegoa, at the cost of N2.1 billion.

The contract was awarded to Messrs Megastar Nigeria Ltd.

Sylva stated that the other memo approved for his ministry was for the operations and maintenance of a 10 megawatts power plant also in Yenagoa.

“Council also graciously approved the operations and maintenance contract for the sum of N712 million for two years.

“All the contracts that were presented today before Council were for an initial period of two years,” he said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, disclosed that the Council adopted a National Diaspora Policy engineered by the Nigerian Diaspora Commission led by the Commission’s Chairperson, Abike Dabiri.

“This policy really is aimed at formalising and giving a structure to the relationship between the country and government and the Nigerians in the diaspora, of which, you know, the 17 or more million Nigerians in the diaspora, and they constitute a very, very important part of the Nigerian community,” he said.

According to the minister, this policy aims to promote national development through constructive engagement with the Nigerians in the diaspora. (NAN)