FG authorises N87.4bn for Minna-Kontogora highway construction

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N87.4billion for the construction of section one of the Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora highway

Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on Wednesday in Abuja at the end of the council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Fashola disclosed that the highway project was one of the four memos approved for the ministry by the FEC.

He said the highway project, approved in favor of a joint venture, DeValco HMF Construction, would be funded as previously approved in 2021 under the Tax Credit Scheme.

The second memo was presented to the council on behalf of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency for the award of a contract for the construction of the Iseri North Road in Lagos that connects Ogun.

He said the contract was approved in favor of Acute Option Limited with a contract value of N2,104,483,739;

He stated that the FEC also approved payments of pensions for members of the staff of the now-defunct Federal Mortgage Finance Limited.

"This stood at N4,774,517,205 with an additional N41.96 million," he added.

Also speaking, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, expressed regrets about the unfortunate incident in Zamfara, where air strikes by combatants of the Nigerian Air Force accidentally killed some innocent citizens while targeting bandits.