The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the procurement of two fast moving ferry boats to promote waterways transportation in the newly dredged river Niger for the sum of N623.5 million.
Briefing state house correspondents after the council meeting the minister of information Mister Labaran Maku said that this is in line with the palliatives being provided by the federal government to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on the citizens. The forty five seater boats will boost economic activities and reduce pressure on other modes of transportation such as roads.
The council also approved contract for the development of Phase II of the Kagini District in the Federal Capital Territory awarded since 2010 but could not be completed due to lack of funds.
Also following a memo by the minister of the interior, the FEC gave approval for the full automation of the Citizenship and Business Department of the ministry to improve the functionality and service delivery of the department through increased operational effectiveness and revenue collection as well as reduce wastage and eliminate fraud.
Minister for Information Labaran Maku, accompanied by the ministers of Interior (Abba Moro), Transport (Idris Umar) and FCT Senator Bala Mohammed, said the proposed automation programme in the Ministry of Interior would “comprise the documentation and re-engineering of the departmental business processes, development of web portal software and revenue collection systems, set up of local area network and internet connectivity, delivery and deployment of hardware peripherals, provision of training/capacity building and provision of maintenance and support services. When completed, the project is expected to improve the functionality and service delivery of the department through increased operational effectiveness, improved revenue collection and reduced transactional costs, faster response times, reduction in wastage and elimination of endemic fraud.
The department is charged with managing the expatriate quota system and the administration of the citizenship application and of course, the control of the Marriage Registry.
The Council also approved a memo from the Ministry of Science and Technology to set up a National Science Research Technology and Innovation Fund for the development of science and technology in Nigeria.
The Council had two months ago approved the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy for the country. A committee was set up to study the appropriate ways of funding Science Technology research in the country.
Jonathan, who revisited the low productivity in the civil service, blamed it on “over protectionism.”
