FG Seeks $9bn Credit Facility For Infrastructure Projects

 SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, (THEWILL) – A whopping $9 billion is being sought from the country’s development partners by the Federal Government to execute various infrastructure projects by the first two-tiers of government across the country between 2012-2014.

The need for the credit facility was one of the issues discussed on Thursday at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo and attended by many state governors and ministers.

Other issues discussed at the meeting were NEEDS assessment of Nigerian public universities, re-investment plan in the power sector and disposal of 78,000 laptops used for 2011 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, alongside Governors Liyel Imoke, Peter Obi and Garba Umar of Cross River and Anambra and Taraba States respectively, as well as the Minister of State of Power, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the meeting.


The decision to borrow the money, which have up to 10 years moratorium and 40 years repayment period, it was gathered , is to enable the Federal and State Governments fund high impact projects towards improving infrastructure, agriculture and employment generation.

Usman said the Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME) and the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, “briefed the Council on the current facilities made available by different international funding organisations.

He listed the organisations to include the Islamic Development Bank, Islamic Development Association (IDA), African Development Bank, French Development Agency as well as Chinese and Indian Exim Banks, saying the amount totaling about $9 billion dollars are for projects development.

“The Council urged the States to endeavour to meet the requirements for the loans and to ensure that the facilities are meant to fund meaningful projects in their states,” he said.


On the NEEDS assessment of Nigerian public universities, Governor Obi, who led the technical committee on the recommendations of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities (CNANU) briefed the Council in line with the Council’s directive last month for it to incorporate additional contributions by Council members and represent its report at today’s meeting.

“After the initial presentation last month, the Council had urged the Committee to equally review the deplorable situation of Basic and Secondary education, and the need for a more robust approach to the foundation level of the education system from which successful candidates transit to universities, including a re-evaluation of the processes and procedures governing the intervention of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC),” Obi said.

The Anambra State governor added that the Committee’s report which followed an extensive review of the CNANU report presented to the Federal Executive Council in 2012 recommended that budgetary allocation to schools be guaranteed so that funds for education are disbursed as appropriated to ensure that the necessary facilities are provided.

He said the report also recommended the strengthening of the composition and character, especially of the external members, of the Governing Councils of the Universities by populating the board with members who have a direct stake in academics to ensure better management of the universities and the introduction of attractive incentives towards promoting post-graduate education and upgrading the academic qualifications of all lecturers to PhD level within a given period.

Other recommendations of the committee, according to the governor, are the designation of a focal Federal University per geo-political zone to be upgraded towards expanding its absorptive capacity to between 150,000 – 200,000 students in the medium term and the establishment of a Federal Ministry of Higher Education and Manpower Development in order to ensure that students’ enrolment is reconciled with the national manpower development priorities of the nation.

The remaining recommendations made by the Committee include government’s investment in hostel accommodation, establishment of specialised laboratories, establishment of a robust federal and state scholarship scheme and the lifting of the moratorium on the creation of more than one university by state governments.

The NEC Ad-Hoc Review Committee on the Re-Investment Plan in the Power Sector led by Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State also presented its report to NEC making a case for more funding to ensure the closing of the huge gap between the required power generation and transmission capacity.

“The Committee highlighted the over $4 billion NIPP investment already made in generation which has produced additional 4,774MW generation capacity by NDPHC and would have raised the overall generation capacity in Nigeria to 9,582 MW in December 2013 in line with the nation’s updated generation capacity target of 20,000 by 2020,” Imoke said.


According to the Cross River State governor, “Investing in the needed transmission infrastructure would ensure, among other benefits, the needed return on investment, the maximisation of proceeds from the sale of the generation assets, improved GDP growth rate as well as ensure effective distribution of generated power to the ultimate consumers.

“As a means of solving the envisaged significant transmission constraint by the end of this year and bridging the gap for counterpart funding in hydro plants, the report recommended the following: utilisation of the proceeds from sale of generation assets for reinvestment in transmission and hydro projects, disbursement of $1.65 billion to fund critical transmission infrastructure, approval of $1.72 billion to fund hydro generation and the sourcing and immediate release of USD 3.37 billion bridge funding pending the realisation of proceeds from generation asset sale.”

Imoke said the council commended the committee for the detailed report and recommended the implementation of the recommendations to ensure adequate evacuation of generated power towards meeting effective power demand in the country.

He added that the Council also recommended that 11 small dams spread across the country should be accommodated in the funding plan because of their potentials towards boosting power, water supply and agriculture in the country.