13 days to go: FEC approves N18.6bn for 3 ministers, 37 new private varsities
…deduction of 1% workers” salary for ECA
By Ukpono Ukpong
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N18.6 billion for contracts in the ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Aviation, and Transportation.
Similarly, 37 more private universities were also given approval to complement existing ones in the country.
Rising from the extraordinary FEC meeting chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who briefed State House Correspondents disclosed that one of the institutions was an Online University owned by a woman from Bauchi.
Though the minister did not read out the names of the newly licenced private universities, he said that the novel Online University was licenced by the Council to encourage women and others to acquire university education wherever they may be.
Adamu said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has licenced a total of 72 new universities since he assumed power in 2015 adding that four other federal universities were pending awaiting approval by the Council.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, who also briefed ddisclosed that the Council approved the implementation of the Employee Compensation Act (2010) by the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
He said the government’s MDAs would now be deducting 1% of Workers’ salaries as premium for the scheme to be implemented by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
Ngige explained that the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS),derived from ECA mandates public and private sector employers to remit equivalent of 1% of their staff emoluments to cover compensation by NSITF for workers’ injuries, ailments or deaths arising from injuries sustained while at work.
Responding to question on a pending bill seeking to delay issuance of practicing licences to Resident Doctors for five years to stem brain drain, Ngige said he would never support such.
He explained that withholding the licence as sought by the bill would. be in contravention of the nation’s laws adding that the law would be un-iimplementable if passed into law.
Ngige also clarified that the private bill was sponsored by a lawmaker from Lagos and not an executive one.
The Council also approved a total sum of N18.6 billion for various contracts and procurements in the ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Aviation and Transport.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadia Umar-Farouk, told newsmen that the sum of N14.2 billion was okayed for the training of non-graduate beneficiaries of the N-Power program.
She said the fund would be used to engage government agencies, including Industrial Training Find (ITF), Nigerian Institute for Transport Technology and others to train the beneficiaries.
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Minister of State (Transportation,), Demola Adegiroye,said the Council approved the sum of N1.3 billion for the procurement of furniture for the newly acquired headquarters of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Security Agency (NIMASA) in Lagos.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, told newsmen that the sum of N3.1 billion was approved by the Council for the procurement and installation of taxi way on the nation’s airports runways in Port-Harcourt,Lagos and Abuja.
Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the Council approved the appointment of a consultant for the supervision of the Dadin-kowa water scheme for the first five years.
