Presidency Wednesday cleared the air on controversy trailing the sack of Director General of the Department of State Security Service( DSS) Lawal Daura, by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, over Tuesday’s unauthorised siege on the National Assembly, suspected to have been planned and executed by Daura.
This is just as FEC also approved N348.594 billion contract for the construction of 420.6 kilometers Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe road.
The project scope, according to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, is for the expansion of the current two-lane highway into a dual carriage way, with a construction period of 48 months.
“What is significant about it is that it completes the integration of the north central with the south east and the north east”
Council had previously approved the Abuja-Keffi Road and the Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi Road all in the north central. In May this year, Council had also approved Nineth Mile Enugu to Makurdi road, that connects the south east to the north central.
He announced that this complete the spine of the major movement of agro produce and other related produce.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, stated this while clearing the air on speculations that the Acting President acted unilaterally on the issue without consulting President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently on a 10 day leave in London.
Adesina who stated that “Buhari backed Osinbajo on DG SSS sack”, added that “What we will like to say for the umpteenth time is that the presidency is one.”
“Whenever the President is proceeding on vacation he transmit power to the Vice President, who then become the acting president. On this occasion he also did that”
Adesina, while reiterating that the acting President has all the powers of a president, described Osinbajo as a decent man, adding that both the President and the Acting President were united in the action
“Now it’s a matter then of decency and we know that the acting President is a decent man, there is no tussle for power, there is no tough battle between him and the president”
“When something like what happened as it did yesterday, there then will be unanimity. There is no way there won’t be unanimity on that kind of decision. It’s not something that will be discussed with the press but know that there was unanimity in the decision”
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu while speaking further on the Council approval for the installation of technology monitoring schemes and structures under Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) for total sum of N17 billion, said the project is for the automated fuel system management and censor network.
“The narrative is that we have all struggled with this whole subsidy payment and how much is consumed in Nigeria, volumes of products moved out illegally and the whole impact on FAAC accounts”
The contract will enable Nigeria track refined petroleum product movement from the point of LC (letter of credit) opening from the vessels that come into Nigeria, up until the point where they are discharged into tanks in Nigeria, and monitor the trucks till they are delivered into the storage tanks for the filling stations and are sold.
Government hope this will produce a 100 percent wholistic monitoring of this products in Nigeria.
“For the first time we will be able to tell how much petroleum products we consume in this country. Because, there has been so much going on in terms of the movement of consumption numbers from thirty something million liters a day to 70 million liters to 18 million liters a day during the difficult times”
“And the challenge the president has given me is to let’s know what we consume in reality, let’s know where these products are going and this process will be able to track every truck. So, a typical truck will be licensed with a driver, with a transport company, so if a truck misses, you can find the transporter and the company that takes responsibility
“It is expected that over a period of three years but we promise that within one year, the real effects of this will begin to show.”
The Federal Executive Council FEC , also approved the sum of N12.5b for various ecological projects spread across 12 states including repair of a section of State House , Abuja.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
