The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of five hundred million dollars for the extension of rail line form Oshogbo in Osun State to Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria.
The Council also approved a variation of the cost for the completion of railway from Ibadan to Kano.
Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi spoke to Journalists after this week’s cabinet meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The Ministry of Transport had two memos and both of them were approved. The first one was an amendment to an earlier approval, which was an approval of $8.7 billion for the railway beginning form Ibadan to Osogbo, to Minna, to Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.
What we sought for was a variation because the financing authority agreed to fund just $5.7 billion and we needed approval to now re-negotiate the remainder as commercial loan and that approval was given. The President also approved that we include Osogbo to Ekiti as part of the construction, which was not there earlier but we got that approval today and that will cost us $500 million,” he explained.
The Minister also announced that four hundred and seventy four million naira was also approved for the purchase of twenty three operational vehicles for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
He said: “Also, we got an approval of N474.4 million for the purchase of 23 operational vehicles for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority NCAA. That memo was approved and there will be two Toyota Hiace buses and the 21 others will be Toyotal Hilux vans.”
Army University
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the Executive arm of government was forwarding a bill to the National Assembly for the establishment of Nigerian Army University in Borno State.
The preparation of the bill is a follow up to an earlier approval given by the Federal executive Council for the establishment of the University.
Shehu said: “The Minister of Education brought before the Council a bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Army University in Biu, Borno State.
“Sometime in April 2018 the Federal executive Council approved the establishment of the Nigeria Army University and now the bill has come so it is going to the National Assembly for legislation.”
When fully established, the proposed university will cater for the educational needs of officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Source: VON
