HIV/AIDS: FG prohibits discrimination at work places

The Federal Executive Council yesterday approved a policy on HIV/AIDS to guarantee rights of people living with it in work places to ensure they are not discriminated against.

A presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said this would ensure people living with HIV/AIDS are respected and given equal rights.

Shehu also said: “Government has revised regulations pertaining to woodworking machinery and the entire ecosystem which dated back to 1959. New regulations have been put in place as empowered by the law.

“And by this approval, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will domicile and gazette these changes that have been approved.

He said the council approved two contracts worth N15.3bn for supply and installation of ICT components as well as digital assistance devices for the 2023 population census.

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Shehu said the ICT component contract was awarded for N10.9bn. 

Shehu said the FEC also approved contract for the development of external cost of infrastructure at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s new training academy for N3.3bn.

He said N1bn was approved for procurement of 19 vehicles for the Nigerian Ports Authority and N65m for variation in the cost for the supply of airport fire crash tenders in the Ministry of Aviation.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fasola, said the council approved various contracts worth N384.65bn for the construction of roads in Kwara State and as well as the building of residential houses and procurement of vehicles for the Nigerian Customs Service.

He said while the first was aimed at digitizing all records of the ministry at N916,813,356, the other two were focused on physical road works, including the N36.459bn Kaduna Eastern Bypass augumentation works to be executed on Sukuk Programme, and a N327.281bn tax credit scheme granted BUA International Limited for construction of some roads in Kwara State.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, said FEC approved N9.649bn for procurement of 192 motor vehicles for the operations and administrative use of the Nigerian Customs Service.