Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disclosed this while briefing State House corespondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Buhari on Wednesday.
He said when operational, the outfit would be equipped with dogs, guard batons, handcuffs, light weapons, among others.
Sirika also revealed that the Minister of Interior was helping out on the modalities of shaping the outfit, which he said would be unveiled during the next stakeholders’ meeting.
He said: “We are very serious about aviation security. Just last week, the president approved that aviation security should bear arms. So, we are trying to make them take the form and shape of TSA of the United States (US) with K-9 dogs, handcuffs, guards, batons, light weapons, among others.
“The Minister of Interior is helping us in that regard with the directive of Mr President. They are partnering us and other stakeholders to keep our airports secure. All these will be unveiled at the next stakeholders’ meeting.”
He said FEC approved the completion of Kaduna terminal building, originally awarded in 2011 with work commencing in 2012.
However, he explained that the cost of the job had been revised upward from about N500 million by to over N1.1billion because of structural damages to the building observed during construction.
According to him, “during the rehabilitation of the terminal building, a contractor noticed some structural damages to the building itself and then increased the scope of what to be done to put it to use and that necessitated the variation of contract sum.
“The cost of variation is in excess of 15 per cent. It had to go to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, for approval anticipation. That was approved and they went to BPP. So, we brought it to council today to ratify and of course, taking into cognizance the exchange rate and inflation that has increased the cost of completion of the terminal building, council has approved the completion of that terminal building and it will be completed in six months. The contractor has accepted to work within that six months.
“The cost is up from N500 million plus to N1.1billion plus. This is just for the terminal buildings and not the runway.”
Speaking on the imminent closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for the repairs of its runway and the simultaneous construction work in Kaduna airport that should serve as alternative to Abuja, Sirika said Kaduna could handle the diverted traffic because it had a robust terminal.
He explained: “There is another elaborate terminal robust enough to take the passengers for the operation of six weeks. It will not hinder it; it will not stop them also from working. It may be also a bonus if
the contractor is able to run through and finish before March. But whether it finishes or not, it will not affect the operations because there are enough buildings to carry out the operations of the airport.”
FEC also approved the procurement of fire-fighting equipment for the fire service, which had not been updated since 1996.
Minister of Interior, Abdurahman Dambazzau, said during the briefing, that the measure was taken because there was a dearth of fire-fighting equipment in the country, despite being prone to frequent fire outbreaks.
He said: “The last time equipment was procured for this service was sometimes in 1996. So, the equipment in the inventory today, we have those procured between 1985 and 1996 and since then, there had been no procurement.
“So, on assumption of duty, I went round stations and I discovered, surprisingly, that there was a dearth of fire-fighting equipment. And with our experience on fire incidences all over the country, we discovered that such a situation should no longer hold and, therefore, we reflected that in the 2016 budget, with the aim of equipping the fire service and also improving its capacity.
“So, these includes equipment and training and of course, the welfare of personnel.”
He said the procurement would go a long way in providing the service with necessary equipment.
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