The Federal Executive Council, on Monday has approved the sum of N3.2 billion for the purchase of modern scanners for use in five international airports across Nigeria, The was disclosed by the Federal Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo.
Keyamo made this disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of Monday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
The minister further disclosed that the procurement of airport scanners would put an end to airport officials having to physically search the bags of passengers going through airports.
He said: “This is what Nigerians would be interested in because since I came to office we have been inundated with complaints of the harrowing experiences that passengers go through at the airport where the airport officials of various agencies have to physically search their bags and it has been really getting under the skin of Nigerians.
So we thought we should do something like where you have the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in America where there are detection machines that when it passes through your bag it detects explosives or any other thing and that is the end of the search.
‘So Council gave approval of an N3.2 billion award of contracts for the supply and installation of customized explosives and narcotics detection screening systems with a remote and dual view.”
According to Keyamo, the airports that these modern scanners would be acquired for include the international airports in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Enugu.
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Ratification of Nigeria’s air service agreement with Guyana
Also, Keyamo disclosed to the State House Correspondents that the Federal Executive Council ratified Nigeria’s bilateral air service agreement with the Republic of Guyana.
He revealed that the bilateral agreement with Guyana was signed nine years ago, in 2014, but had not been ratified ever since, until at the FEC meeting on Monday.
The minister explained that the ratification of the bilateral air service agreement implies that Guyana can now have direct flights to Nigeria.
“We have entered into an agreement with Guyana, a South American country. They have been very anxious to have direct flights from Guyana to Nigeria. This agreement was entered into, way back in 2014 with the administration at that time but it required ratification by the Executive and that is what was done today,” Keyamo started.
