FEC Appoints Forensic Audit Facilitator for NDDC

TRACKING_____Abuja The Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday in Abuja approved the appointment of Olumuyiwa Bashiru & Co. to coordinate the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The approval of the firm for appointment was sequel to the presentation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the council by the Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Akpabio said the council approved N318 million for the engagement of the firm, whose responsibilities, he said, was to bring nine forensic auditors to audit the commission in line with the demand of nine governors of the oil-producing states whom he said had visited President Muhammadu Buhari last year and demanded for the audit of the organisation.

Akpabio said the company would work with both the Ministry of Niger Delta and the interim committee earlier set up on the activities of the NDDC.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osage Ehanire, said two people suspected to be infected by Coronavirus had tested negative to the disease, saying the situation implies that the deadly disease, which broke out in China last month is not in Nigeria as well as the entire continent of Africa.

According to him, as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, all passengers flying into the country must be screened by camera and his travel history looked into.
Ehanire disclosed that the country got the required machine to carry out diagnosis on the disease eight days ago.

He also said three laboratory centres had been designated to carry out tests on the disease in three places in the country.
Ehanire who listed the three places as Irrua in Edo State, Abuja and Lagos, added that Nigeria was lucky to have had no one infected with the disease entering into the country.

He also disclosed that China now carries out exit screening for passengers leaving the country with the intention of stopping any of its nationals suspected to have contacted the disease from exporting it to another country.

Also briefing, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said the council approved N867.263 million for engineering design of additional lanes on Abuja – Kano highway project.

According to the minister, the project that is already under construction is an expansion of a hitherto four-lane highway to six lanes adding that the new design includes six bridges on the 365-kilometre road.
In the same vein, the Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, said FEC approved N1.482 billion for a contract on 180 marine vendors to Messrs AG Vision Nigeria Limited to cushion the effect of ships’ arrival from the seas.

According to her, existing vendors had been damaged and need to be repaired while new ones also need to be bought.
She also said another N144 million was approved by the council for the extension of consultancy services for the rehabilitation of Tincan Island Port in Lagos State, explaining that the contract which was awarded to Messrs Yolas Consultant in 2002 needs to be expanded