FEC approves N126bn for roads in Enugu, Bauchi, others

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N126 billion for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 12 federal roads across the country.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola who disclosed this yesterday while briefing State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, said it include roads in Enugu, Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Kwara, Gombe, Yola, Kaduna states.

This is just as the Minister of Health; Isaac Adewole on Wednesday dismissed the veracity of the claims that a drug for the treatment and cure of HIV/AIDS has been discovered.

He said the claim by a Nigerian university don, Prof Maduike Ezeibe recently, had no valid ethical approval by the relevant health authorities.

According to the Minister “nobody is entitled to conduct any experiment or research on human beings without an ethical approval. “At the National Health Research Ethics Committee level there is no evidence that this researcher sought and obtained ethical approval.”

He said the ministry was yet to get the final report from the Director General of the National Institute of Medical Research. “We are yet to get the final report from the Director General of the National Institute of Medical Research.

But what is clear is that those activities were carried out without a valid ethical approval. “As you might be aware, nobody is entitled to conduct any experiment or research on human beings without an ethical approval.

“At the National Health Research Ethics Committee level there is no evidence that this researcher sought and obtained ethical approval.

But at an appropriate time we shall disclose the full report.” he said He also disclosed that Council approved a new National Health Policy that will reposition the health sector in the country.

The Minister explained that the new policy will provides direction necessary to support the achievement of significant progress in terms of improving the performance of the country’s national health system.

The policy also lays emphasis on primary health care as the bedrock of national health system in addition to the provision of financial risk protection to all Nigerians particularly the poor and vulnerable population.