Posted by Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja on
The Federal government, 36 States and local governments across the country will jointly spend $5. 37 billion to improve the country's power supply situation in the next three years, it was revealed yesterday, after a meeting of the National Economic Council(NEC).
The Federal government, 36 States and local governments across the country will jointly spend $5. 37 billion to improve the country's power supply situation in the next three years, it was revealed yesterday, after a meeting of the National Economic Council(NEC).
The fund is to be sourced from the excess crude account. This was the highlight of the meeting on National Economic Council held yesterday at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara said the decision to jointly fund the project followed a presentation to the Council by President Umaru Yar'Adua on the need for a joint effort to tackle the power problem.
He said all the governors of the 36 States of the Federation agreed to the funding of the power projects through the excess crude account.
However, the contribution of the states and local governments will be regarded as equity which will be refunded to them as the power plants will be privatised after their completion.
The President, according to Saraki, also informed the Council of his intention to declare an emergency in the power sector next month.
The power plan, according to a presentation made to NEC by Minister of State for Energy(Power) will involve rehabilitation of the existing power plants and completion of the on going National Independent Power Projects, NIPPs across the country to achieve 6000 megawatts power generation capacity by 2010.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who was also part of the press briefing, said a committee that will comprise one governor each from each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, the three incumbent governors who had previously served as Minister of Power, a journalist, representative of Organised Private sector, the oil industry and some Ministers, will be set up to oversee the projects.
About $3.068 also sourced from the excess crude account had been previuosly spent on the NIPP.
But the National Assembly has been reported to be on the verge of scrapping the excess crude account which had been described as unconstitutional.
Shamsudeen Usman, Minister of Finance, however ,contended that there is no plan to abolish the excess crude account.
Also, it was agreed at the meeting which was presided over by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan that $4.87 billion should be released to states and Local governments in the next one week from the excess crude account.
Another issue that engage the attention of NEC was the on going crash of prices on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, who briefed journalists on the issue, said the government and the different regulatory agencies will take all necessary steps to ensure that the market continues to maintain its integrity.
He assured that the market is still very strong if all the necessary fundamentals are taken into consideration.
He attributed the present panic to unnecessary alarm from those he described as pseudo analysts.
Soludo also said it is not true that CBN has banned margin trading or stopped banks from lending money to investors.