FEC okays N12.66bn for firefighting equipment, data centre, prison vehicles

THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N12.66 billion for the procurement of firefighting equipment for the Nigeria Fire Service, Data Control and Communication Centre for Nigeria Immigrations as well as for the procurement of 116 Green Maria (formerly Black Maria) vehicles for the Nigeria Prison Service.

Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

The Minister explained that the approval of firefighting equipment was to contain fire incidents, while the 116 Green Maria vehicles were to ease the transport of prisons inmates to the courts.
Speaking on the memoranda he presented to FEC for approval, Danbazau said: “The first memo has to do with procurement of fire trucks. I have informed this gathering before that when we came in, in 2015, I went round the Fire stations within Abuja here and what I found out was very awful because as at that time there was only one rickety fire truck on ground.
“So, we embarked, as part of the security sector reform efforts and also in order to reduce the loss and also curtail the incidence of fire, we embarked on the procurement of firefighting trucks, water tankers and so on. But the reform is not just about procurement of equipment we are also focusing our attention on the issue of training and welfare of staff within the various services.