Leadership (Abuja)
Andrew Oota
25 July 2008
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has directed Finance Minister, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, to release the sum of N57 billion as part of the N115 billion meant for power projects to the Ministry of Power within a week, just as it was revealed that power generation in the country has dropped below 2,500 megawatts.
Minister of Power, Hajiya Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim told the Senator Nicholas Ugbane- led Committee on Power and Steel that out of the N115 billion, the Ministry of Finance has released the sum of N33.5 billion only to her ministry.
The minister appeared before the Senate committee to brief it on the level of implementation of the 2008 appropriation.
Hajiya Fatima also told the panel that her ministry had used the earlier releases to the ministry judiciously and in accordance with prescriptions, stressing that her ministry had received the sum of N56.17 billion, which was distributed to the agencies under the ministry for various projects.
She told the committee that her ministry had taken a giant step to address the epileptic power supply situation by proposing to build mobile turbines with the capacity to generate 20 megawatts in 10 designated remote parts of the country.
She gave the breakdown of the money released so far as follows: N6.8 billion released to the ministry, PHCN N33.2 billion, N13.3 to Rural Electrification Project, and the total sum of N854 million was released to the National Energy Regulatory Commission.
Hajiya Fatima further told the committee that the Nigerian Energy Commission got N997 million, the National Integrated Power Project got N1.5 million, while N50 million was earmarked for the Mambilla project.
Similarly, the Executive Vice Chairman of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Engineer Bello Suleiman, told the committee that power supply in Nigeria had dropped below 2,500 megawatts and that PHCN had a plan to increase power generation to 5,600 megawatts, but for frequent vandalism of PHCN equipment across the country.
According to him, "Most of the constraints we faced in the execution projects come from budgetary provision. Sometimes the money we got is usually not enough for projects to be completed.
"Another major constraint in power is the level of water supply in the hydro-power plants. The thermal gas stations that were supposed to provide cover by supplying water to the hydro-plant are not working in perfect conditions. These stations run on gas and there has been frequent disruption in the supply to the station. If the water level improves, we can generate at least 400 megawatts."
Meanwhile, President Yar'Adua yesterday received a request from Benin Republic for Nigeria to increase crude oil supply to the country.
The action followed his meeting at the Presidential Villa with the Beninoise President, Boni Yayi.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Odein Ajumogobia, who was at the meeting, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that Yayi asked for an increase in supply from 15,000 to 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
"The issue (meeting) concerns petroleum products. You know, even in Nigeria here we are suffering from the high price of the product and in other countries, especially the non-oil producing countries, they have difficulties in meeting their obligations.
"There was a request to renew an agreement that expired in 2007. We had a bilateral agreement with the Republic of Benin for the supply of products and crude oil. The quantity was 15,000 bpd; they are asking for 50,000 bpd", explained the minister.
Ajumogobia said he would be meeting with the Beninoise oil minister to work out details of the quantity of petroleum products to be supplied.
Nigeria had also extended a similar agreement to Ghana.
Ajumogobia declared that such favours would be granted to other neighbouring countries, based on several factors, particularly on their needs and Nigeria's constraints.
According to him, "We can't obviously meet all requests and that's why Mr. President said we should sit down with our counterpart ministers and review their requests and see what we can do, given our own constraints.
"We have to look at what we are doing currently, how much we are producing. As you know, the issue of what we produce is fluctuating. So we have to look at what we have and what is available and what we can do."
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