By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N40.2 billion for the completion of Kontagora/Auna dam and irrigation project in Niger, Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu has disclosed.
The council also approved N226 million for pests control along 11 frontline states.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the weekly FEC meeting in Abuja, Adamu said the council specifically approved the upward review of the cost of the Kontagora/Auna dam project, which was abandoned after reaching 61 per cent completion, from N8.9 billion to N40.2 billion.
“As part of our efforts to complete ongoing projects, which were hiked over time, we presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council towards resuscitating and completing the Kontagora/Auna dam and Irrigation project in Niger state.
“You could recall that we had a technical audit at the beginning of last year, of all the ongoing projects in the ministry and this project was ranked as among the top priority projects. It had attained 61 per cent progress before it was abandoned in 2010. This is the project that was initiated in 1985,” he said.
He said the federal government was working towards increasing the land for irrigation by 100,000 hectares to boost agricultural activities across the country.
Also speaking, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, said the council approved N223 million for the procurement of chemicals to check locust and Quelea birds’ invasion of farmlands in the 11 frontline states; namely Kano, Jigawa, Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa.
The minister also told journalists that the council discussed the persistent problem of rice smuggling along the nation’s border towns, saying efforts had been intensified by the Nigeria Customs Service to check the menace.
