Posted by From Josephine Lohor in Abuja on
The National Econ-omic Council (NEC) comprising of Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 36 state governors yesterday said it expects $11.6 billion from the excess crude account by the end of the current fiscal year.
The National Economic Council (NEC) comprising of Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 36 state governors yesterday said it expects $11.6 billion from the excess crude account by the end of the current fiscal year.
The council at a special session attended by Presi-dent Olusegun Obasanjo also approved the construction of seven additional power plants in the Niger Delta area of the country.
At a press briefing held after its meeting, Gover-nors Peter Odili of Rivers State and Ahmed Sani (Zamfara), Deputy governor of Lagos State, Mr. Femi Pedro and Ministers of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Liyel Imoke (Power and Steel), said the council discussed the state of the excess crude account.
Odili, who presided over the press briefing, said 'Council was briefed on the excess crude oil revenue and the interest accruing on the savings on the excess crude account. We are looking at a projection that at the end of this fiscal year, we will be looking at $11.6 billion as actuals in that account".
Okonjo-Iweala, while giving further insight into the excess crude account said 'We have about $9.3 billion in the excess crude account but if we deduct from that monies that we need for payment of the Petroleum Profit Tax, PPT, royalties of about $0.5 billion, we will be left with $8.8 billion actual."
She said that the Central Bank is managing these resources and the interest earned so far as at the end of July is $127 million.
Odili said 'the Council also looked at alternative sources of revenue and decided that the Federal Inland Revenue Service should create a process that would help increase the internally generated revenue, plug the leakages and create more opportunities for the various levels to be able to generate more revenue apart from the overbearing weight of revenue from the oil and gas sector which at the moment is over 80 per cent".
'We were also briefed about the arrangement by the Federal Board with the Lagos State government to host a First National Tax Retreat between August 22 to 24 which would be declared open by President Obasanjo with all state governors in attendance. The Vice President will be at session to declare the retreat closed", Odili added.
He said'Council deliberated on how to ensure that parts of the country that at the moment are not hooked on to the national grid are hooked soon and the Minister of Power has promised that by the end of 2006, every part of the country would be hooked".
'Council also discussed the general power situation in the country. You know that the power sector has been one of the most needed sectors that also calls for a lot of intervention.
The Minister of Power and Steel has been working very hard for the reorganisation. The Minister has been able to generate, for the first time in the history of this country, over 3,800 mega watts daily generation, transmission and distribution nationwide. This figure has never been attained before.
'Talking about new power generation, Mr. President had set up a special committee chaired by the Vice President to build seven new power stations in the Niger Delta area for the special reason of availability of gas that would energise these stations and that would be converted to electricity", he added.
The seven power plants would be built in Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo and Akwa Ibom States.