FG Endorses $1.4m For NDLEA Firearms

The Federal Executive Council has approved $1.442bn to procure arms, ammunition and equipment for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The move among other things is meant to boost the agency’s anti-narcotics operations nationwide, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Dr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said at the State House in Abuja.

According to Fagbemi, the Council also approved N1.9bn for the purchase of 33 CNG-compliant vehicles and the sum of N985m for the procurement of two full-body scanners for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

He said, “Our discussion centred on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, otherwise known as NDLEA. The first one is the procurement of 33 Mikano Maxus E60 motor vehicles to boost the operation of the NDLEA at N1.9bn.

“You will agree with me that it is important that we support the activities of NDLEA, so the Council considered this and gave approval for the purchase of 33 Mikano vehicles, which are all CNG compliant.

“The second one is, again, purchase for the NDLEA; this time, it is for the procurement of arms, ammunition and anti-riot equipment for counter-narcotics operations for the NDLEA. This is for the sum of $1.44bn.

“The third in the series is the procurement of two units of full body scanners at Abuja and Lagos international airports to boost the operation of the NDLEA. This is at a cost of N985m.” 
Meanwhile, the Council has approved a ban on the use of single-use plastics, in all federal government ministries, agencies and departments.

The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, said “this initiative demonstrates our commitment to addressing the triple threat of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, describing plastic pollution as ‘a major issue in our country’.”

He added, “As you know, plastic is one of the key challenges that we face when we go to our drains and when we talk about the issue of flooding, we find out that plastic waste is heavily incriminated. 

“We also discovered that plastic pollution is a major issue in our oceans, affecting human health and our environment.”