Fg Disburses $4.6bn For Power Projects

From Kunle Aderinokun in Abuja, 10.15.2009

In an effort to achieve 6000 megawatts of electricity in the country by December this year, the Federal Government has disbursed $4.6 billion for the financing of Niger Delta Power Projects, National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) and Mambila Power Projects, amongst others.
The Federal Government embarked on the resuscitation of the abandoned NIPP following the agreement it reached with the state governments to re-finance it.

The project, initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, had been stalled following accusations of inflation of contracts.
Speaking to THISDAY in Abuja yesterday, a highly placed government official said the money under a Power Sector Special Intervention Fund (PSSIF) would create an enabling environment for the Federal Government to make the December deadline realisable.
He said the PSSIF is included in a total of about $9 billion that had been withdrawn from the excess crude savings account (ECA) and shared amongst the three tiers of government. 

The $9 billion excess crude proceeds also include the $2 billion recently withdrawn to reflate and the $2.1 billion shared earlier in the year.
According to him, the fact that 11 states had not sent their approvals to the Federal Ministry of Finance to effect disbursement of their contributions for power projects, did not imply that their state Houses of Assembly had not ratified the decision which was jointly reached by all the states, forming membership of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

The source argued that the states had actually secured approvals from their legislative arms, adding that bureaucracy of government might have delayed the receipt of such by the Ministry of Finance.

FAAC, a major part of which are the 36 states, had in June last year approved the withdrawal of $5.37 billion from the excess crude account to support the financing of power projects across the country in the yet-to-be declared emergency on power.

Each state was requested to secure approval from their state Houses of Assembly to transfer their contributions.

Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, had at the monthly FAAC meeting Monday lamented that: “Our record reveals that eleven states have not forwarded the approvals of their States Houses of Assembly for the transfer of their contributions and that of their local Government Councils from the Excess Crude Savings Account to the Power Sector Special Intervention Fund. This is affecting the remittance of funds to the Steering Committee on Emergency Power.

“Members are advised to liaise with the Director, Home Finance to find out if their states are affected and expediently process the approvals of their State Houses of Assembly on the matter

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=157125

it will still remain the same

Another scheme for some rich people to become richer.

what about the one OBJ handed out?9JA we hail dee

Pepper Don Land! $4.6b! Thats like N700 billion! izdatso??? By Jove, I need to be in government right now. Do you doubt me, wait till two years time. We would still be where we are today or even behind. Then you would know the loot is for sharing

Where did the $16bn disbursed under Obasanjo go?

The money will end up in private pockets and nothing will happen. So now does it mean the misappropriated $16bn will not be recovered and utilized for the purpose it was orginally meant?

This is irritating

dont worry very soon may be in late november they will come and give excuse on why they cant achieve their target. Now no problem in Niger Delta and they have all the funds they need yet they might not achieve the target

I pray we get it right this time but how about the monies allocated  on the last project that was not used? We should look into this urgently so the mistakes of the past will not happen again

Anoda 2011 calculations,abeg if u get company make u brign am make we go chop our own cos dem no de check for CAC, dat was how obasanjo achieved his fit.

ever noticed how billions of US dollars are allocated to critical infrastructure projects when election season is upon us. 

Nigerians!!! Authority Stealing Pass Armed Robbery (YES!! YES!! YES!! YES!!)
We Africans we must do something about this nonsense (YES!! YES!! YES!! YES!!)

We warned  Okonjo  Iweala and  Charles Soludo to share this money before these cabals came in. People wey go Harvard could not understand simple  work of sharing the moey. Now these cabals are showing them how to spend. U na Ttoo much book

when the govt is ready , there would power for all or us.