The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved spending of N17 billion ($47 million) to create an automated tracking system for gasoline imports that will give precise data on volumes imported and distributed.

“This will enable us track refined petroleum product movement from the point of letter of credit opening for the vessels that come into Nigeria until the point where they are discharged into tanks,” Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Emmanuel Kachikwu told reporters Wednesday in Abuja. “From the tanks into trucks in Nigeria, we will monitor the trucks till they deliver the products into the storage tanks for the filling stations and they are discharged and sold.”

The tracking system will help ascertain daily gasoline consumption within a year and volumes illegally smuggled to neighbouring countries offering higher retail prices, Kachikwu said.

It will also help determine exact amounts due for subsidy payments. Africa’s biggest oil producer relies on fuel imports to meet domestic demand due to lack of refining capacity. Four ill-maintained, state-owned refineries that can process 445,000 barrels of crude per day currently operate at a fraction of their capacity.

The Federal Executive Council, FEC Wednesday also approved the sum of $150m for tackling Polio in twelve states from the World Bank.

The Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun in her presentation at the FEC Meeting, said the World Bank’s $150 million credit facility in support of the Polio Eradication and Contract for the supply and installation of 3 Units of Rapiscan Mobile Cargo Scanner-Eagle M60 were approved.

This includes 30 months on-site service/support and maintenance, training of120 officers and integration of Rapiscan Eagle M60 Scanners into Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System.
The Minister said the proposed World Bank’s US$150 million credit facility in support of the Polio Eradication, is third additional financing to support substantial past investments.

The investments, she said have paid off handsomely with the country now on the verge of polio eradication.

“The objective of the project is to assist the Government of Nigeria, as part of a global polio eradication effort, achieve and sustain at least 80% coverage with Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) immunization in every State in the Country and improve Routine Immunization,” Adeosun said.

The project will be coordinated by National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) at the Federal level and implemented in the 12 lagging States of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.

•Sourced from a BusinessDay report