- Okays N3.23b for scanners at airports
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday, approved a $1 billion concessional budget support financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who announced the approval after the Council meeting, which was presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also announced a $100 million loan to Abia State government for waste management and rehabilitation of roads.
He said the bank approved the budget support concessional financing with 25 and eight years moratoriums in recognition of the macro economic measures being taken by the Tinubu administration towards macro stability, restoring revenue, and improving the foreign exchange situation.
“There was financing of $1 billion, concessional financing, 25 years, eight years moratorium at about the same for 4.2per cent per annum, which was approved by the AfDB for this administration and really, it was in recognition of the macro economic measures that have been taken, the swift movement towards macro stability, restoring revenue, improving the foreign exchange situation, and so forth, that have been taken by this government.
“The reward, as far as the AfDB, a concessional financing organization, was to provide $1 billion in general budget support,” he said.
He added that Council also approved a total limit of N2 trillion for Ministry of Finance to bring down the rate of interest on the current outstanding.
He said it was expected to help save N50 billion or more in debt servicing over time by giving back expensive debt refinancing with cheaper funding.
“In order to keep working hard and maximizing the ability of the government to use the markets and to take advantage of different situations and improve situations, the FEC approved a total limit of N2 trillion to be available for use by Ministry of Finance in order to go in and out of the market and essentially to, where possible, bring down the rate of interest on the current outstanding.
“So, essentially, it will be refinancing and the view is that there will be an opportunity to save about N50 billion or more in debt servicing over time by giving back expensive debt refinancing with cheaper funding,” he added.
On the approval granted on the funds to be lent to Abia State for waste management and rehabilitation of roads in Umahia and Aba, in particular, Edun said “there was an inherited financing, an inherited loan processing, which was to do with the $100 million financing from African Development Bank and $15 million from the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund.
“Essentially, it was processed before this administration came in and, so it has been inherited. Essentially, it is concessional borrowing, around for 4.2% per annum by Abia State, through the federal government,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Council has also approved the award of contract for the supply and installation of customized exclusive and narcotic detection screening systems for four international airports across the country.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo, who disclosed this during the briefing, said that the screening machines will cost the federal government the sum of N3.23 billion
He added that the detection screening systems will be built, with drive view mechanism in Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja; Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; and Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
“The second one, it’s what Nigerians will be interested in because, since I came to office, we have been inundated with complaints of the harrowing experiences that passengers go through at the airports where they have to physically search their bags. I’m sure you all know about that and it’s been really getting under the skin of Nigerians.
“You’ll see various agencies lined up; NDLEA, they’ll say open your bag, Immigration, they’ll say open your bag, Customs, they’ll say open your bag, EFCC, they’ll say open your bag, and they will dip their hands in your bag.
“So we thought we should do something like you have the TSA in America, where you have detection machines. So when they pass your bags through the machines, they detect explosives or any other thing and that’s the end of the search.
“So it’s for the approval of the award of contract for the supply and installation of customized explosive and narcotic detection screening systems, with remote and dual view for the international airports of Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
“Luckily enough, the Council saw the need for this kind of equipment in order to relieve Nigerians of such experiences and it was graciously approved by Council”, he said.
He also disclosed that the Council approved a memo for the signing of a bilateral air service agreement with the Republic of Guyana, a South American country.
According to him, the agreement was entered in 2014 by the administration of that time, but you understand that the international agreement which are treaties do not come into force until there internal processes are completed and it is only a process of ratification by the relevant authorities.
“We have entered into an agreement with Guyana and they have been very anxious to have direct flights from Guyana to Nigeria.
“This agreement was entered way back in 2014, with the administration at that time, but you understand that international agreements, which are treatises, don’t come into force until their internal processes are completed in both countries.
“Our own internal process here involves a process of ratification of treatise, so if I go out and sign an agreement with a country now, it doesn’t come into force; it doesn’t bind my country, until I come back and then it goes through a process of ratification by the relevant authorities.
“In some cases, where you have to now domesticate it as a law, it goes to the National Assembly to pass into law, in line with the provisions of the constitution. In some other cases, it is just the executive that ratifies. In this case, it does not need domestication, doesn’t need legislation, it only needs the ratification by the executive, which was done today. So that is for the memo regarding the bilateral service agreement with the Republic of Guyana,” he said.
