President Bola Tinubu has approved N80 billion to reconstruct and rehabilitate Alau Dam in Borno State.
The minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, made this known on Tuesday after the second federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Tinubu at the presidential Villa, Abuja.
Utsav said the Borno State government is partnering with the Federal government to kick-start the project, which will be carried out within the next 24 months.
The minister further revealed that the first component of the dam rehabilitation would be established between February and July 2025.
He underscored the significance of the timeline, saying its essence is to ensure that flooding does not occur in Borno State in 2025.
“I reported on the committee constituted on September 23rd, 2024, on evaluating dams in Nigeria. The committee was inaugurated on October 2nd, 2024.
“The president gave approval of N80 billion for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Alau dam in Borno State, and this is awaiting ratification by the FEC while other due process is being observed.
“The Borno State government is working together to kick start the project between now and July 2025. The first component will be established to ensure flooding does not occur in Borno State in 2025. The project is to be carried out within the next 24 months,” The Minister added.
Utsav disclosed that the committee accessed 35 dams after its inauguration and considered the Alau dam the most critical and immediate for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
It should be remembered that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a committee to reassess the integrity of the Alau Dam and other dams across the country.
The committee is led by the Minister of Environment and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev. Other members include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Works, David Umahi; the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu.
Meanwhile, the federal government has approved N12 billion for critical health infrastructure upgrades across teaching hospitals in six states.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare Ali Pate announced the decision on Tuesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, which President Bola Tinubu presided over at the Presidential Villa.
He emphasised the administration’s commitment to expanding healthcare access and advancing Nigeria’s role in the continental health regulatory space.
Pate said the approved N12 billion will fund the procurement of major diagnostic equipment, including three MRI machines and two CT scanners, across key tertiary institutions.
The institutions are the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom, Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Federal Medical Center, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State, and Federal Teaching Hospital, Kebbi State.
Pate highlighted that the contracts cover broader infrastructure upgrades to support medical education and patient care.
“Gradually, piece by piece, we are building our health infrastructure,” he said, adding that improved facilities have already started attracting patients from neighbouring countries, the UK, and the US.
Pate also said the council ratified the African Medicines Agency (AMA) treaty.
He says the treaty marks a key step toward integrating its medical products into the broader African market.
Initially adopted by the African Union in 2019, the treaty aims to harmonise regulatory standards and boost access to safe, quality medicines across the continent.
“With this treaty, what we produce as part of our value chain expansion will have access to a much wider market,” Pate said. “This means what is made in Nigeria will, over time, be made in Africa.”
Pate commended President Tinubu’s leadership and called the treaty’s ratification a “major milestone” in Nigeria’s medical self-sufficiency and industrialisation journey.
