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Tag: approved

  • $2.1b arms scandal: ‘I collected N100m approved by Jonathan’

    $2.1b arms scandal: ‘I collected N100m approved by Jonathan’

    Former presidential aide Dr. Doyin Okupe, yesterday admitted collecting more than N100million from the Office of National Security Adviser(ONSA) when Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) was in charge.

    The former Senior Special Assitant (Media and Publicity) to former President Goodluck Jonathan said part of the cash was a N10milion vote to furnish his rented apartment.

    The ex-President approved the release of the funds from his security vote, Okupe said.

    He also faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) for making his heart-related challenge, called sinus bradycadia, public.

    Okupe and his companies are under probe for allegedly receiving N162million illicit payments to him and his companies by Dasuki  and Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State.

    In a reaction to his intermittent grilling by the EFCC, Okupe, who opened up on his Facebook page, said he used the funds allocated to him to run his office between 2012 and 2015.

    He was hired in 2012 by Jonathan for propaganda purpose against the opposition, which was critical of the past administration.

    Giving the details of how he collected money from the ex-NSA, he also confessed that his company secured contract from Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State.

    He said:  “The initial N50m was approved by the President to be paid to me from his security vote. N10m was to furnish my rented living apartment and another N10m for my office. The balance N30m was approved as take-off grant.

    “The N10m I received from the ONSA monthly was to run my office, pay salaries of staff, including overheads, pay expenses for our numerous press conferences, pay for publications in newspapers, magazines, local and foreign, television programmes, bulletins, and media consultants who assist and facilitate our work. I had about 23 staff, 11 were graduates out of which five were masters degrees holders.

    “ The second N50m was approved again by Mr. President when I reported to him that the monthly allowance had been cut from N10m to N5m and that I was no longer in position to keep running a one hour NTA network programme called INSIGHT which was aired 9-10am every Friday.

    “We paid NTA about N1.2m monthly for airtime. Two presenters were paid N600, 000 monthly.

    The lead presenter on Insight earned N400,000 and the second presenter earned N200,000. We paid for tapes and editing per programme. Besides, we also pay honorarium for guests either directly or in form of hotel bills for those outside Abuja or transportation.

    “This cost averagely N500,000 weekly or about N2m monthly. All in all, we spend about N4m monthly on the programme. Mr. President promised to help with the expenses. About a few months later when we had incurred some debts the NSA sent me this N50m which was to cover the cost of the program for 12 months.

    “I am not a thief. I have only two houses in Lagos and in my hometown. The monthly allowance was not my salary. It was meant to be used to run the office. 40% went on salaries. Salary sheets with names and offices of employees were submitted to EFCC.

    I was paid a salary of N853,000 per month through the office of the SGF.”

    On the N76.5m contracts awarded to his firm, Romix Soilfix, by Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, Okupe said the firm was “one of the over 20 construction companies who were duly awarded contracts for rural roads some five years ago by the Niger State Government”.

    He said the jobs were delayed because of irregular payment to contractors by the council.

    Okupe added:  “The job is still ongoing. The relationship of this to my service as senior special assistant to President is still not clear.”

    Okupe faulted the EFCC for allegedly making his heart-related challenge, called sinus bradycadia, public.

    He said: “I was born with sinus bradycadia, a non-disease based slowness of the heart. It precluded me from vigorous exercise from childhood but I have, by God’s grace, been able to live a normal and active life.

    “With age, the slowness grew worse and life threatening. I sought medical help and went through a procedure at the Arrhythmia Cardiac Research Centre in Atlanta, where this defect was corrected. It was just a year ago and I am still under satellite monitor from the USA. This is what I revealed to the EFCC and they made it a public issue.”

  • ECA: Jonathan approved $2.1b withdrawal, says Okonjo-Iweala

    ECA: Jonathan approved $2.1b withdrawal, says Okonjo-Iweala

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan approved the withdrawal of $2billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said.

    In a statement endorsed yesterday by her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, said the payments  were used to pay for petroleum subsidies.

    The statement read said: “For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did Dr. Okonjo-Iweala say that FAAC approved such expenditures. What she said was that all these expenditures were discussed at FAAC meetings attended by Finance Commissioners from the 36 states. It is therefore clear that there was no misrepresentation by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.

    “If monies were used to pay for subsidies for the Nigerian people and duly approved, why is Okonjo-Iweala’s name being battered in this way?”

    He argued that there was no question of mismanaging any resources here.

  • Jonathan approved CBN’s expenditure, says Sanusi

    Jonathan approved CBN’s expenditure, says Sanusi

    Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has responded to allegations of recklessness levelled against him by the Presidency.

    Reacting to Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria’s (FRCN) claims that the CBN engaged in unlawful expenditure on intervention projects, Sanusi noted that President Goodluck Jonathan instructed him to pay “N19.7 billion to the Ministry of Police Affairs for the purchase of armoured helicopters and other security equipment like armoured helicopters; armoured patrol vans; anti-riot equipment; and hand held communication equipment.”

    Sanusi added that “upon the application of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the CBN paid N2.1 billion for the automation and renovation of the Federal Executive Council Chamber”. The President approved the “construction of the International Conference Centre for Nigeria.”

    Jonathan, Sanusi disclosed, “also requested that the CBN pay N3.2 billion for the construction of a new counter terrorism centre for the office of the National Security Adviser and that the FRCN itself was a beneficiary of the CBN’s intervention policy as the CBN paid N220 million to the FRCN and also organised the banking sector, through the Banker’s Committee, to pay N280 Million, totalling a sum of N500 Million, for the construction of the IFRS Academy.”

    All of these requests Sanusi said were duly submitted to the CBN Board of Directors and were duly approved and the grants under the Intervention Program were duly budgeted for, and made on a limited and selected basis.

    On the claims that the CBN’s expenses on Private Guards and Lunch for Policemen went up from N0.919 Billion in 2011 to N1.257Billion in 2012, Sanusi responded that “the CBN retained the services of about thirteen (13) private security companies to provide access control and security check services. In 2012, the CBN budgeted N600 Million for security services but spent N582.2 Million on private guards.”

    To complement the efforts of private guards, the CBN Sanusi added “also requested the services of security agencies, in light of the increased security challenges, especially the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group. These security personnel were engaged on a daily basis; and were attached to senior CBN officials; special assignments such as security coverage for currency movements; static guard duties at the bank’s premises nationwide, and other sundry engagements. About 2,406 Policemen are currently deployed on a daily basis to various branches and other locations of the CBN. These security personnel were paid a daily lunch and transport allowances totalling N675.02 Million in the year under review.”

    On the claims that the CBN’s breakdown of “Currency Issue Expenses” for 2011 and 2012 indicated that it paid the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMP) N38.233 Billion in 2011 for printing of banknotes, whereas the entire turnover of NSPMP was N29.370 Billion, Sanusi responded that the “expense item of N38.233 Billion to NSPMP was made up as follows: N28.738Billion payment to NSPMP in 2011; N6.587Billion accrued liability in 2011 but paid in 2012 when deliveries were received; and N2.829Billion audit adjustment journal entry into the account at the end of 2011 in respect of prepayments to NSPMP.

    The difference between the numbers in the financial statements of CBN and NSPMP he said “is a simple reflection of timing differences between recognition of expenses by the CBN and income recognition by the NSPMP, with both entities applying conservative accounting policies.”

    That the CBN made fictitious payments to Emirate Airlines: N0.511 Billion which allegedly does not fly local charter in Nigeria; Wing Airline: N0.425 Billion which allegedly is not registered with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); and Associated Airline: N1.025 Billion which allegedly did not have a turnover of up to a billion naira in 2011, the suspended CBN governor answered that the “CBN neither engaged, paid nor claimed to have paid Emirates Airlines. Rather, the CBN engaged and entered into an Air Charter Services Agreement with Emirate Touch Aviation Services Limited, which is a local Nigerian charter service company. A simple enquiry by FRCN would have clarified and avoided this misrepresentation.

    ii. With respect to Wings Aviation Limited, the CBN contracted Wings Aviation Limited, which changed its name to Jedidiah Air Limited on 21 August 2009 but only notified the CBN of the change on 28 February 2012. Please, see Annexure C for the letter from Jedidiah Air Limited notifying the CBN of the change of name. Here also, a simple enquiry by FRCN would have made this clear. iii. With respect to Associated Air Limited, the CBN did in fact pay a total of N1.025 Billion to Associated Airline Limited. See Annexure D for the schedule of payments made to Associated Airline Limited. It is worth stating that the CBN is not responsible for how the company reports its turnover.”

    To the allegation that the expenses made by the CBN on account of currency issues and sundry currency charges for the years 2011 and 2012 were identical and therefore difficult to understand, Sanusi stated that “it is incorrect to say that the expenses in 2011 and 2012 were identical. The sundry currency charges amounted to N1.68 Billion in 2011 and N1.87 Billion in 2012. This expense related to amounts paid to Travelex under an agreement to import foreign exchange for licensed BDCs. On the other hand, Currency Issue Expenses totalled N1.15 Billion in 2011 and N1.28 Billion in 2012, relating to expenses borne by the different branches and currency centres of the CBN in the movement and handling of cash” he explained.

    With regards to the Fixed Assets Clearing Account comprise properties acquired by the CBN without any expectation to derive future economic benefits and are written off by the CBN on a yearly basis, Sanusi responded that, “Fixed Assets Clearing Account is used by the CBN to record the procurement of fixed assets, physical items and projects-related expenditure for the CBN, using the IT application Oracle ERP. However, some items, which do not qualify as fixed assets under the capitalisation policy of the CBN, he said are sometimes posted into this account.”

    The transactions he said “are periodically reviewed for the purpose of capitalizing those which qualify under the Capitalization Policy and posting such to the respective Fixed Asset Account and Fixed Asset Register with tag numbers. All other assets which do not qualify are expensed through income and expenditure accounts at the end of the year.”

    The allegation that the CBN’s leadership uses this head of expense (Facilities Management) to capture what ordinarily should have been accounted for as their benefits-in-kind for tax purposes, and that this head of expense is used for ‘fraudulent activities’ based on the inclusion of items such as “Profit from sale of Diesel”, Sanusi said “the CBN outsources the management and maintenance of its landed properties across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. This involves three service areas: engineering services, building services and environmental services. These are operational costs relating principally to head offices, branches, currency centres and training institutes.”

    On the specific allegation of ‘fraudulent activities’, based on profits from the sale of diesel, Sanusi noted that “the CBN’s Facilities Management Agreements clearly include the supply of diesel for the operation of generators to power CBN offices in 51 locations across the 36 States and the FCT. The Diesel is paid for at pump price, while overhead and profit at 10 per cent is paid to the service providers. This overhead and profit is presumably what the FRCN erroneously regarded as “profits from the sale of diesel”. These profits do not go to the CBN but to the service providers, which is why they are an “expense item”. The CBN does not operate in any sector of the petroleum industry.”

    Also responding to accusations that the external audit revealed debit/credit balances of sundry foreign currencies without the physical stock of foreign currencies at the CBN Head Office, Sanusi said “losses or gains may arise out of the account balances, which in turn, may be occasioned by exchange rate differentials. In either event, once crystalized, the net position is then posted to the Foreign Assets Revaluation Account. As such, as at 20 February 2014, there was no physical stock of currency missing at the CBN.”

    On the issue of wasteful expenditure in 2012, Sanusi stated that “this allegation is clearly at variance with the reality of the financial performance of the CBN under my leadership. For example, in the year 2008, just before I took over office at the CBN, the contribution of the CBN to the Federation Account was N8Billion. Based on the 2012 annual accounts, our contribution rose tenfold to N80Billion, while in 2013, our contribution, based on the audited accounts, was N159Billion.”

    Sanusi noted that in the five years of his tenure as CBN Governor (2009 – 2013), “the CBN has contributed N376Billion to the Federal Budget as IGR (Internally-Generated Revenue). Indeed in 2012, the House of Representatives Committee on Finance publicly commended the CBN for being the highest contributor of revenues to the FGN among MDAs – accounting for 75 per cent of the total IGR contributed by MDAs between 2009 and 2012. The CBN has been able to achieve this through prudent management of costs, including currency expenses and overheads. For example, we brought down currency expenses from N50.8 Billion in 2009 to N29.08 Billion in 2012.”

    He also said that “the Ministry of Finance has already received its IGR from the CBN in full, based on our 2013 accounts and the Ministry even requested and received an advance of N70Billion in anticipation of surplus that is yet to be earned for 2014. With this level of prudent financial performance, it is puzzling to imagine the basis for the levied allegation of “Wastefulness”.

    Reacting to the allegation that the CBN paid excessive legal and professional fees of N20.202 Billion in 2011, Sanusi said “the CBN, like any other public entity, is not immune from liabilities that arise from judgments and orders of the Nigerian courts. The referenced N20.202Billion spent under this head covered the CBN’s judgment debt liabilities in the year under review.”

     

     

  • Three boyfriends down the line and my brother still hasn’t approved

    Hello Aunty Adeola, I am 21 years old and I have had 3 boyfriends within 2 years. The first one is the one that deflowered me and I love him but my brother doesn’t like him and that was why how we departed. The same thing happened with the second guy. Now there’s the third one that I love, but because he doesn’t have enough money to spend for me, my brother and his children don’t want to see him with me. I don’t have a father that is why I am staying with my brother and he has also said he doesn’t like my guy’s family. Please I need your advice; what am I going to do?

    I’m really sorry to hear this. Your brother doesn’t seem to know that he is disturbing you emotionally and that is like taking a part of you away with his selfishness. If he had complained about the conduct of any of these young men you have introduced to him, then maybe I would have supported him. But for him to be treating you like merchandise worthy of sale to the highest bidder is not fair enough.

    Some men are not too happy that girls and young women these days put money before love and they would use all avenues to preach to girls to love first before asking for money. Yet, we have a man who is actually encouraging his sister to marry for the sake of money. Did his own wife marry him for money sake? Try to find out. I’ll like to know if he has daughters. If he does, he should wait for them to grow up so that he can exchange them for money. In fact, he has enough time to groom them into ladies who would bring rich men home. As for you, keep your matters away from him until you’re ready for marriage. I pray that by then, God would have blessed this man you’re dating now so that your brother can eat his words. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give him some of the money o, after all, in a way, not accepting the man would contribute to that one working hard to become successful.

  • Approved oil benchmark to strengthen exchange rate

    The exchange rate for the naira will be strengthened by the approved oil benchmark, analysts have said. The FBN Capital, an investment and research firm explained in a report that if the oil price remains stable, which is expected, a lower threshold strengthens the defences and underpins the naira exchange rate.

    The naira at the weekend, advanced after investor inflows into a Nigerian bond auction pushed yields to a record low. The naira rose 0.2 per cent to 157.5 a dollar and has gained 3.1 per cent this year, the second best performance of African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

    Managing Director, Blue Wall Bureau De Change (BDC), Lucky Aiyedatiwa said the naira hans been relatively stable since the beginning of the year and is expected to maintain that status in 2013.

    However, higher budget threshold would reduce the transfers to the excess crude account (ECA) and the sovereign wealth fund (SWF), which are expected to provide sufficient buffers for the economy. The National Assembly on Thursday approved an oil price threshold of $79 per barrel for the term of the 2013 to 15 medium term expenditure framework. The legislators approved a N4.98 trillion budget for next year, raising the Executive’s N4.92 trillion proposal by N63 billion.

    President Goodluck Jonathan had sent a N4.92 trillion Appropriation Bill to the lawmakers. “The House of Representatives had previously argued for $80 per barrel and the Senate for $78 per barrel. The FGN had assumed a threshold of $75 per barrel in its proposals for 2013. This was an increase from the level of $72 per barrel in the 2012 budget, an unusual step by the executive which we attributed at the time to its determination to secure a relatively swift passage into law of the finance bill,” FBN Capital said.

     

    Interbank

    Ezun Olukunle, Fixed Income & Currency Analyst, Ecobank Nigeria, said inter-bank rate fell 20 basis points to 10.5 per cent on December 19, despite provisions made for Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS), treasury bills and the monthly government bonds auction.

    According to him, recent rise in interbank rate was due to ongoing CBN’s liquidity management adding that Open Market Operations (OMO) bills of N273.1 billion were sold between 10 and 13 December. He said the CBN’s liquidity management remains active and supported by the circular issued on 1 August tightened currency and the MPC’s decision to leave the MPR unchanged at 12 per cent on 20 November. However, call/overnight and 7-day money market rates fell 10.5 per cent and 10.95 per cent respectively while the 3-month Nigeria Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) also fell 12.87 per cent, though less activities were done on the tenor.

     

    SWF

    Nigeria’s $1 billion sovereign wealth fund will start making investments in March after receiving board approval. “We’ll start all the securities investing by March” for the Fiscal Stabilization Fund and the Future Generations Fund, Uche Orji, chief executive officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, told Bloomberg. For the Infrastructure Fund, “we’ll start investing in the second half of 2013.”

    Nigeria set up a wealth fund in May last year to invest savings made from the difference between budgeted oil prices and actual market prices. Africa’s most populous country of more than 160 million people relies on crude exports for more than 90 per cent of foreign income and about 80 per cent of government revenue, making it vulnerable to swings in prices.

    The wealth fund will help meet budget shortfalls in the future, provide dedicated funding for development of infrastructure and keep some savings for the future generation, according to the law establishing it.

     

    Fraud control

    Come next year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) will be introducing industry-wide software that will assist banks control frauds.

    Speaking at the NeFF Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said taming frauds in the banking system is critical to development of the sector adding that the Forum was set up for that purpose. Sanusi, who was represented by CBN Director, Banking and Payment Systems, ‘Dipo Fatokun said the software will be domiciled at Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) adding that the software is the regulator’s way of achieving a proactive tactics in addressing frauds.

    “The Neff is a collaborative effort. The purpose of this forum is to reduce frauds in the banking system. The CBN is working with NIBSS and other operators to ensure that come next year, we will have a software that is domiciled at NIBSS that will proactively, address the issue of fraud in the entire industry. It will not only be preventive but proactive. We want industry-wide software to address frauds,” he said.

     

    ATM charges

    Deposit Money Banks last week, stopped all interbank charges for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The CBN had last month, agreed to put a stop to all charges associated with the use of ATMs. The agreement was the highpoint of a meeting between the Bankers Committee made up of Chief Executive Officers of commercial banks, directors and top officials of the CBN and NDIC. Before now, account holders had been made to pay a flat rate of N100 per withAdrawal any time they used other banks’ ATMs.

    Some of the banks visited by The Nation last week had complied with the directive. At Ecobank Nigeria, FirstBank, Diamond Bank, Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, branches in Lagos there were full compliance.

     

    Unified currency

    The central banks of West and Central Africa are considering combining their currencies, Lucas Abaga Nchama, governor of the Bank of Central African States, has said.

    According to the West African and Central African CFA francs are currently separate currencies that are both pegged to the euro. Merging them would boost trade and help fight money laundering, Nchama said. The franc zone covers 14 African countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

    Six other West African nations namely Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea and Liberia — plan to enact a common currency, known as the Eco, by January 2015, 12 years behind an initial target, Temitope Oshikoya, chief executive officer of the West African Monetary Institute, said.

     

    Tenure for audit committee

    The tenure for audit committee should be increased from one year to three years of two terms to achieve better result and promote continuity, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu has said.

    He spoke at the 2012 Annual Audit Committee Roundtable held in Lagos. According to him, those elected into the audit committee should report to the shareholders adding that some companies discourage people that can interpret account statements from joining the committee where there are sinister motives.

    He also said that the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) needs to be amended to address pressing issues that hinder auditors from carrying out their responsibilities effectively

    Chairman, Audit Committee Institute of Nigeria, Christian Ekeigwe also said that CAMA has to be reviewed to check management excesses and protect the interest of all shareholders and other stakeholders.

    He advised investors to be careful in choosing companies to invest in, saying they should choose those companies that have developed the right governance environment. “Good governance is a control against fraudulent financial reporting. Firms with good governance would have enterprise risk management framework that helps deter and detect fraudulent financial reporting,” he said.

     

    Agric funding

    The Nigerian agricultural sector has attracted $8 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last one year, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Adesina Akinwunmi has said.

    Speaking at a workshop on Financing Nigeria’s Agricultural Revolution organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he said that agricultural lending is promising and has moved from one per cent to over three per cent in the last one year.

    He said there is need to unlock the potentials in the agricultural sector adding that banks should see agricultural financing as a serious business that can impact positively on their balance sheets.

    He said that public equity funds also need to increase their stake in agricultural financing.

    He said that Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) which allows bank to share the risk associated with lending to the sector as provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The apex bank is equally considering an intensive performance rating for all commercial banks to determine their effectiveness of lending to agriculture. To achieve this, the apex bank has set aside, N75 billion allocated for the full implementation of the NIRSAL project.

    The CBN has also recently set new rules for lending to the agricultural sector of the economy. The apex bank took the decision after reports from banks and discount houses indicated that lending to the subsector remains a high-risk, which should be followed with caution.

     

    Cashless policy

    With an estimate of N3.5 trillion circulating yearly within the unbanked and under-banked (constituting over 10 million traders), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend the cashless policy outside Lagos to bring more cash into the system.

    In addition, the institute said spreading the policy outside of Lagos will help the government in its anticorruption and anti-money laundering campaign. Addressing the institute’s 17th Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) annual conference, ICAN President, Mr Adedoyin Owolabi said when cash remains outside the banking system ,the ability of banks to create credit and supply productive capital to the economy will diminish.

    His words: “Bringing cash into the banking system produces an equal increase in bank reserves, enabling banks to facilitate more consumer and commercial loans, thereby stimulating consumption and business growth.”He stressed that the institute supports the cashless policy not only because it can promote transparency of transactions through the provisions of audit trails but also because it can increase the size of the informal economy and access by government to loanable funds.

     

    Bank to bank report

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) assured its customers of enhanced services across its networks nationwide. In a customers’ forum held in Lagos, the bank had highlighted its new products and services, including e-business services, alternative channels, and the various transformational initiatives of the Bank over the past one year.

     

  • N12b approved for Lagos, Cross River water projects

    As part of the effort to address the potable water shortage in Lagos and Cross River states, the Federal Government yesterday approved a loan of $77 million (about N12 billion) for the two states.

    The concessionary loan is coming from a French agency.

    In the package is $43.9 million (N6.8 billon) for Cross River and $33.8 million (about N5.2billion) for Lagos.

    This was announced at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at which President Goodluck Jonathan presided over.

    FEC also approved N2.3 billion for expansion of the service lane of the Niger Bridge at Onitsha and N444 million for completion of the Ibadan-Oyo section of the Ilorin-Ibadan Expressway.

    Others are the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Zungeru Hydroelectric Project under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.

    The Federal Government also signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with two Chinese firms, Sinoyhydro and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCEEC).

    Information Minister Labaran Maku said the loan is to facilitate access to water in some cities and towns.

    In Cross River, the loan will be used to supply water in Calabar metropolis, covering Ogoja, Ikom and Obudu.

    Maku said: “In the case of Lagos, the loan would enable the Lagos State Government to improve the quality of water treated for public supply.

    “It will also develop the capacity to successfully run the public utilities, particularly water supply, in the two states on a commercial basis.”

    On the power projects, the Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Ibrahim Kuchi, said they would be completed in the first quarter of 2015.

    The minister said the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with CCEEC and Sinyohydro Corporation is for the implementation of the Zungeru Hydro Electric project.

    Another MoU with Sunrise Power and Engineering Transmission Company is for the implementation of the Mambilla Hydroelectric project.

    Ms Kuchi said: “We are challenging Sinyohydro. We don’t have six years to deliver. Mr. President will have to inaugurate the projects by 2015. We are looking at the first quarter.”

    The Mambilla project, according to the ministry, will cost $3.2billion. The Federal Government has made available N87.6billion, representing 15 per cent of the cost.

    The Ministry of Finance has secured a $928million loan from the Exim Bank of China for the funding of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project in Niger State.

    The revised Mambilla Hydroelectric power project comprises three dams: Nya, Sumsum and Nghu.

    It will interconnect tunnels with generating units at Abong Power Station and generate 3,050 megawatts into the National Grid.

    Ms Kuchi said the Zungeru Hydroelectric power project would generate 700 megawatts upon completion.

    Also approved is the rehabilitation of the ECOWAS Parliament building at N3.3billion.

    The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ms Olajumoke Akinjide, said as host country, Nigeria is obligated to provide a suitable accommodation for the parliament.

    The project, awarded to Julius Berger, would cover the roofing, seats, auditorium, elevators, library, electrical and mechanical installations.

    The FEC also approved the construction of a strategic road – Sagbemi, Kiribo, Gada, Egbekigbo in Ondo State at N3.555 billion with a completion period of 24 months.

    The contract, which covers 23 kilometres, is part of the post-amnesty project.

  • Mbora Phase 2 project approved

    Residents of Mbora District of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are in for better times, as the Federal Government approved the district’s Phase II contract. The job was awarded to an indigenous company, Messers Sammya Nigeria Limited

    Mbora District is the one between Gwarinpa 1 District (Life Camp) and Idu District. It has several mass housing estates with about 4,000 families. The project is to provide primary infrastructure which include storm drains, sewer lines, telephone ducts, water and power supply. It will also provide the major roads linking Ring road two with Karimo District and local access roads to plots in the district.

    The Phase I of the project which was awarded in February 2011 was also awarded to Messers Sammya Nigeria Limited at the cost of N6.6b and has reached an advanced stage. The second phase approved by FEC is awarded at a contract sum of N13.3b with a completion period of 36 months. The total project cost for the provision of engineering Infrastructure to Mbora District is N19.9b. The contractor, Sammya Nig Ltd is an indigenous company with several years of experience and currently carrying out various infrastructure projects in various states of the federation. The scope of work includes 35km of roads, 70km of water reticulation , 38km of sewer line, 2 NO”s 15MVA power station etc.

    The Public Relations Manager of Sammya, Otunba Teslim Alao told Abuja Review that the company would complete the two phases well ahead of schedule.