President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presided over the first Federal Executive Council meeting in 2017.

The meeting, which held inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa Abuja, started at 10am.

Briefing state House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika said the Council approved the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Sirika had earlier announced plans to shut down the Airport for six weeks, starting March 8th, 2017, for repairs on its dysfunctional runway.

The decision to shut the airport and divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna, an airport used primarily for domestic flights about 160 km (100 miles) to the north, was taken after airlines threatened to stop flying to the capital due to the bad condition of the runway.

Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazzau, also disclosed that the Council approved over 4 billion Naira for the purchase of firefighting equipment for firemen in the country.

Also at the meeting was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo alongside other cabinet members. (TV360 Nigeria)

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