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Tag: Ibe Kachikwu

  • Nigeria will refine 900,000 bpd this year

    Barring any distortion in plans, Nigeria will be refining at least 900,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the next 10 years. This was the submission of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu.

    In an interview with reporters in Abuja, the ex minister said the country is capable of achieving the feat in view of the efforts made by the Federal Government to crude production and refining in the country.

    He said the country will be producing 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Dangote Petrochemical Refineries  soon, ditto getting another 250,000 bcpd from 10 modular refineries in the Niger Delta region during that period.

    Kachikwu said: ”The modular refinery, which was a concept we pushed in order to engender peace in the Niger-Delta region, is currently working successfully. Three modular refineries are nearing production, while seven of the refineries are at the verge of completing their Final Investment Destinations (FDIs) plans. So, if those 10 refineries come on board in the next two to five years, they will be providing 250,000 bpd.

    He added: “ This, when added to the output of  Dangote Petrochemical Refineries, which is expected to refine 650,000 bpd, will bring the total refining capacity of Nigeria to 900,000 bpd. I tend to look at the refineries from the perspective of the volumes they are producing, not physical assets.

    The refinery, Kachikwu said, is an export earner, adding that Nigeria needs to be able to supply product to meet the needs of countries in  West Africa,  East Africa and Southern Africa.

    He said he made  efforts to increase the country’ s crude output, by holding discussions with countries in the Gulf region on how to refine crude oil for Nigeria.

    “ I also made efforts to talk to the governments of countries in the Gulf Region such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China by trying to see whether they would be interested in coming in both for the purpose of building  refininery plants for Greenfield and Brownfield projects  and  the response has been positive,” he added.

    Nigeria, he said, is at the threshold of signing a Memorandum of Understsnding( MoU) with South Africa, which will cover refineries, as well as construction of pipelines and Liquefied Natural Gas( NLG) investment.

    On PIB, the former Petroleum Minister, said the Petroleum Industry Bill will enable  more investors come into the indudtry by widening spaces for them to contribute to the growth of the nation’s energy sector.

    The bill, he said, will also protect the rights of those who have been given licenses, adding that through this,  a safe operating environment will be created for investors.

    Raising funds, Kachikwu said, would be made easier once there is a safe environment in the Industry.

    He said the right to  make the country  proud behoves on all Nigerians, arguing that such idea would lead to the growth of the economy.

    Achieving this feat, Kachikwu argued, would not happen if the country is looking at the economic growth from  short term angle, adding that it was wrong on the part of Nigerians to conclude that the Federal Government has awarded oil blocks to some individuals in the last four yearrs.

    The government, he said, has not given licenses out for operators in the maginal fields, stressing that Mr President intends to sanitise the industry, before oil blocks are giving out to Nigerians, who would make good use of them.

  • Mohammed, Fashola, Onu set to retain cabinet seats

    There were strong indications last night that between 12 and 15 ex-ministers will join President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.

    It was learnt that the ex-ministers’ names are on the list which was reportedly submitted to Senate President Ahmed  Lawan on Wednesday.

    But there was still a pall of uncertainty on the size of the cabinet.

    The President has the constitutional right to have a 36-man or a 42-man cabinet.

    The President is said to have decided to retain some of the ex-ministers on merit.

    Those speculated to be on the list last night are ex-Ministers of Justice and AGF Abubakar Malami ( SAN); Adamu Adamu( Education); Hadi Sirika ( Aviation); Zainab Ahmed (Finance); Aisha Abubakar (Women Affairs); Lai Mohammed ( Information); Babatunde Fashola (Works, Power and Housing); Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation); Mohammed Musa Bello( FCT); Suleiman Adamu Kazaure (Water Resources); Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Science & Technology); Solomon Dalung (Sports & Youths Development) and others.

    Although Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, former governors Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti) and Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos) were also being speculated last night to have made the list, none of our sources could confirm such speculations.

    The sources confirmed that some ex-ministers, such as Adebayo Shittu (Communications) and Okechukwu Enelamah (Trade and Industry) lost the battle to return to the cabinet.

    A government source said: “I know that the two women ex-ministers are returning to the cabinet. We have a few others who have really added value that the President will be retaining.

    “It is not a total overhaul, which you are anticipating. What the President promised was to leave sustainable legacies in his second term.”

    Read Also: Breaking: Buhari to submit ministerial list this week

    As of press time, it was difficult to ascertain whether or not the President of the Senate had received the ministerial list.

    A principal officer of the National Assembly said “Lawan dropped a hint that he will receive the list on Wednesday”.

    Another source said: “I think the list is already with the Senate President and some officers but they said it will not be made public until Thursday.”

    A source in the Presidency simply said: “All things being equal, the Senate will receive the list on Thursday morning. “

    It was uncertain whether or not the President will retain the 36- member cabinet in his first term or expand it.

    Section 147(1-3), provides that the President should have no fewer than 36 ministers at one per state.

    The section reads:   “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under Subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of Section 14(3) of this Constitution:

    ”Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”

    Lawan confirmed on Wednesday that the list of ministers will be out this week.

    President Buhari had promised to appoint into his cabinet those who would help him to implement his “Next Level” programmes.

    Lawan spoke during plenary on Wednesday, following a Point of Order by Senator Albert Bassey Akpan (Akwa Ibom Northeast).

    Akpan, who spoke under personal explanation, prayed the Senate to mount pressure on Buhari to transmit the list to the chamber.

    The senator reminded his colleagues that the Senate would embark on its annual recess within the next two weeks.

    He stressed the need for Buhari to transmit the list before the recess.

    Akpan said: “Mr. President, in view of the yearly long recess the Senate and the House of Representatives will embark upon in two weeks, there is need to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to forward the much expected ministerial list to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

    “This is very important because if such list is not made available for the required legislative attention before we embark on the long recess, there will be no ministers and, by extension, the federal cabinet for the President to work with till September.

    “Making the list more urgent now from the President before our long recess, is the fact that if it is not made available, the concerted effort being made by both arms of government to return to the yearly budget cycle of January to December will be defeated.

    “On this note, I call on the President of the Senate to inform President Muhammadu Buhari of the need for the ministerial list before we embark on recess.”

    Lawan said: “Let me, on the strength of this motion, inform the Senate that the Executive arm of government is working very hard on the ministerial list.

    “In fact, the list, based on information at my disposal, will be forwarded to us by the President before the end of this week.

    “May I, therefore, appeal to us all to be ready to make the necessary sacrifice in terms of sufficient time to be spent in carrying out thorough screening and confirmation of appointments of the expected ministerial nominees.”

  • Kachikwu shops for Saudi’s investment in refineries

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has asked the Saudi Arabia oil company, Aramco to invest in the four Nigeria’s refineries.

    Speaking with Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas at the Ryhr in Saudi Arabia, he revealed that he was discussing with Minister of Energy Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al Falih to secure his country’s investment in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).

    Kachikwu said that he took a tour on the Saudi’s industrial citizen that had just been built: the most famous one, for possible cooperation.

    In live Bloomberg video, revealed that he also discussed with Falih. 

    He said that; “We are looking at the cooperation at multi-levels. Refinery, for example, we are asking for investments for some of four our refineries. We are looking some potential in terms of LNG investment. 

    “We took some tour on industrial citizens. We need to take a tour on some of their industrial citizens. We are looking for some strange deals in terms of DSDP program to see how they can participate and bring products into the country.”

    On the energy market, he said that in case that the prevailing market reality of lower volume endures, OPEC would discuss it in its next meetings in June because it would not take its decision overnight. 

    Kachikwu noted that OPEC would also know what to do in term of a tighter market since there were issues of duration and volumes arising from the waiver that were granted. 

    The Nigerian minister, who said he would love oil prices to rise above $100 per barrel, noted that higher prices always come with some concern about volume as some countries like the US Shale would become a big issue. 

    “We want to have a balance. Once it is about 70. Once it passes that it becomes unsustainable,” he said. 

    He said that Nigeria has been 75 per cent compliant with the directive of the organization on production volume. 

    Kachikwu noted that “In the event that the trend continues on lower level of volume and tighter markets OPEC would know what to do.”

    The Nigerian minister said that Nigeria prefers longer term of six months waiver to shorter one because of the unpredictable issues with shorter term.

    His word: “There is duration all issue. And there is volume issue. We always prefer longer term because shorter terms are unpredictable.”

  • No plans to increase fuel price, says FG

    The Federal Government has no plans to increase the pump price of petrol, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has said, adding that the queues at filling stations was not as a result of shortage in supply of fuel but as a result of logistics issues.

    Kachikwu in an interaction with reporters on Monday in Lagos at the ongoing two-day and second edition of the Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), urged the public to ignore rumours of planned upward review of pump price of petrol.

    ”As far as I’m concerned, there is no discussion within government circle about petrol price review and wondered how the rumour began and impatient motorists didn’t interrogate the speculation and gossip,” he began.

    “I took time to go round some stations in Lagos and I discovered that the queues which resurfaced has disappeared and let me tell you the issue of petrol pricing is a sensitive thing, you can see how the oil unions quickly reacted to the rumour and again the government is sensitive and engages stakeholders in every decision or policy it makes. Therefore, this spontaneous reaction and resurfacing of queues despite assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is worrisome,” Kachikwu said.

    He said he has confidence in the management of the NNPC and its capabilities to maintain and meet the supply needs of the country and the logistics gap which prompted the unnecessary panic has been resolved.

    But again no system is perfect, sometimes you have some of these things happen but as a responsive and responsible government, alternative arrangements are always in place such that any gap is taken care of not to allow the situation to escalate, he added.

    The Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), and arm of NNPC, Mr. Roland Ewubare, who represented the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, at the event, noted that about 15 ships with fuel arrived at the ports but had discharge challenges especially at Warri port, but the situation has been resolved.

    Ewubare confirmed that even with the challenges, the NNPC has about one billion litres of petrol which is about e 28 days stock, assuring that the nation will not experience scarcity of any sort again.

    In his goodwill message, Kachikwu challenged industry operators and stakeholders to take the issue of human capital development very seriously as Nigeria currently lags behind in developing local capacity in the oil and gas industry.

    He expressed worries that the country has spent so much time dealing with issues around the sector but without tangible success stories to tell.

    “I want to ask, in human capital development, how can we start building Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs), develop modules to transfer to the sub-region.

    ”When shall we allow market philosophy to drive the market with government providing enabling environment through adequate policies?

    “When shall we begin to install our pipelines, build power plants, build our own refineries using in-country resources and attract private sector funding of projects and save government the scarce resources?” he asked.

  • ExxonMobil, other oil coys not exiting Nigeria – Kachikwu

    Dr Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resource says that no International Oil Company (ICO) is planning to exit  Nigeria contrary to reports in some section of the media.

    Kachikwu made this known while briefing newsmen after facility tour of ExxonMobil Erha Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSO) in Lagos on Sunday.

    FPSO unit is a floating vessel used by the Offshore oil and gas industry  for the production and processing of hydrocarbons for the storage of oil.

    Erha FPSO has a liquid storage capacity of 2.2 million barrel, making it one of its biggest kind in the world. The Erha field and Erha North satellite field, was completed in 2006.

    The fields are located approximately 97km offshore Nigeria in water depths ranging from 1,000m to 1,200m. They were developed with an investment of 3.5 billion dollars.

    He said that it was not possible for a company like ExxonMobil to sell off its assets for the small amount quoted in the report as its assets were much more worth than that.

    “I have confirmed that it is not true, there are going to be here for a long stay, they will be here over the next 50 years, they are looking for more, they are doing all kinds of things, they just begun the exploration campaign first time in four years because of the new cash call policies we put in place.

    “ That is not a sign of somebody who is exiting. But different from not exiting is to be aggressive. ExxonMobil needs to be more aggressive in terms of development policies,’’ he said

    He added that ExxonMobil need to be more aggressive with business as Bonga South west was almost on FID, Egina just kicked off and AGip is  struggling to get Zabzaba online.

    “ So, I need to see a very robust development ,’’ he advised

    Commenting on the aim of his visit, he said that it was to encourage the company and see the development programmes as well as share in the challenges they were experiencing in their operations.

    “First is to draw attention to the very complex and complication of operations of FPSOs when we do production off shore.

    “This is about 100 km from Land, and part of the thing I am doing this month is visiting some of them. Including Egina that is just recently buoyed in different location and the one of Agip.

    “I am here to look at what they are doing, to encourage them to continue the fantastic work they are doing and also discuss with them what their problems are,’’ he said

    According to him, the visit is also to draw attention nationally and internationally to the few challenges in operations as complicated as this one.

    He urged the company to brace up to the challenges in the sector as oil had recently been found in many African countries.

    Read also: Kachikwu challenges ExxonMobil, others on gas commercialization policy

    Earlier, Mr Richard Laing, ExxonMobil Executive Director, Production commended the minister for  making out time to visit the facility and reiterated that the company had no plans to exit Nigeria.

    “We are happy with Nigeria, We have our differences, we don’t agree on everything, we are happy and content. We are delighted over the minister’s visit and we are happy that he has come back to his spiritual home.

    “As the minister said, the corporation has been here for many years, we intend to stay, we have ambitious growth programmes to build wealth and grow business to make more profit, key into the gas commercialisation project.

    “ We fully support what the minister said and we look forward to working with him,’’ he said .

    Laing said that the company was being faced with the challenges of competition for capital and expertise in running the business. (NAN)

  • We have sufficient fuel, Kachikwu assures Nigerians

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu on Sunday assured Nigerians that there is sufficient  Premium Motor Spirit  (PMS), also known as fuel in the country.

    Kachikwu in an Interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said that the country had gone past the era of fuel scarcity and urged motorists to desist from panic buying.

    “I can say that there shouldn’t be any reason for fuel scarcity, we have gone past the era of fuel scarcity.

    “ NNPC informed me when I made inquires that they imported enough.

    “Yesterday, I saw a few pockets of scarcity in Abuja, but I was told that it was Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) related distribution issues, and it will be sorted out as soon as possible..

    “So, it is not an issue of lack of sufficiency, I am told they have about 28 day’s sufficiency, two weeks ago, they presently have between 14 and 15 days product sufficiency,’’ he said.

    Read also: Kachikwu challenges ExxonMobil, others on gas commercialization policy

    The minister noted that the 28 days sufficiency was okay based on 50 million litres daily utilisation in the country.

    “ I don’t expect to see a scarcity, I just expect them to work hard over the next few days to deal with whatever logistic issue they have. I will be working with NNPC on that,’’ he added

    On queues building up in some filling stations in Lagos and Abuja, he maintained that the country was wet enough to serve the needs of motorists.

    “ I haven’t visited Lagos cities, but the information I have is that there is enough product on ground and we should be able to deal with whatever it is.

    “The problem with fuel scarcity is that if you allow it to last for three days , then it  builds up a life of its own.

    “That is what I have enforced NNPC to do to make sure that it is resolved,’’ he said.

    Kachikwu noted that it would had been  a major issue  for the country if there was insufficient product on ground  but assured that NNPC would be able to resolve whatever the situation was in a few days.

    A check by NAN on Sunday in Abuja, revealed that there were no queues in most filling stations along Airport road and Kubwa expressway.

    NAN reports that at NNPC outlet, Conoil and NIPPCO filling stations along airport road, motorists were buying fuel with ease, except at the NNPC mega station at the Central business district, which a short queue.

    A taxi driver, Johnson Adio said “this is not a serious queue, I spent just 20 minutes before buying, it is normal with this station because a lot of people like buying from them.

    “It was on Friday that we had a little problem, but it is okay now,” he said.

    Also, along the Kubwa Expressway, there was no queue at AA Rano filling station, Shema, Mobil and NNPC stations.

    NAN also reports that only few filling stations like DAN oil along the airport and the Kubwa expressway were closed.(NAN)

  • Kachikwu challenges ExxonMobil, others on gas commercialization policy

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has urged ExxonMobil and other  International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria, to key into the gas commercialization policy of government for gas development in the country.

    Kachikwu gave the advise while fielding question from newsmen after  visiting the ExxonMobil  Erha Floating Production Storage and Offloadingvessels (FPSO) facility in Lagos, On Sunday.

    An FPSO unit is a floating vessel used by the Offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons for the storage of oil.

    Erha FPSO has a liquid storage capacity of 2.2 million barrel, making it one of its biggest kind in the world. the Erha field and Erha North satellite field, was completed in 2006.

    The fields are located approximately 97km offshore Nigeria, in water depths ranging from 1,000m to 1,200m.

    NAN reports that the fields were developed with an investment of 3.5 billion dollars.

    He said that gas would be parallel income stream for the country if everyone key in to implement the gas commercialization policy

    “ There is so much we can do with oil, we are doing that.I like to see oil go up in barrels, up to 3 million barrels but most importantly, I like to see gas begin it life.

    “If you look at the production, a lot of gas is been rejected. And everybody is talking of gas in the country and gas is going to be parallel income stream for the country.

    “ We have talked about it too much, but fiscal terms have to be agree on PSC terms, commercial terms for gas need to be agreed and once we unlock that, the issues of power becomes secondary.

    Read also: Kachikwu: Firms should raise Nigeria’s oil production to 7m bpd

    “ My message here today is, thanks for the fantastic work you are doing but there is a huge amount of work left undone,’’ he said.

    He said that the country had volume and reserves of oil to produce in the next 40 to 50 years but the gas was still lying untapped.

    He said that a lot had been done under the gas commercialization policy adding the LPG deployment had started in the country.

    “But those are just torching the fringes, what is important is coming up with right commercial terms, get that done as rapidly as possible and let everybody who have access to gas to development,’’ he added.

    He said that government had received submission from all oil companies keying into the policy to help exit gas flare.

    “ It is a different thing from dealing with gas development itself.  There are many ways to stop flare, you can inject it and that is what has helped us achieved about 70 per cent factor in gas flare exit but that is not real exit, that is manage exit.

    “For you to exit it, you must have the right commercial terms so that people can produce gas and make it commercial,’’ he said.

    He noted that the need to develop gas for commercial purpose remained the big elephant in the room. (NAN)

  • Marketers to build 10,000 gas plants in local councils

    The Federal Government is pushing forward a bill via the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to force marketers of petroleum products to build new 10,000 gas filling plants in their stations across the country.

    The directive was aimed at deepening the use of LPG in the country, in addition to promoting the issue of clean energy as well creating jobs.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, spoke in Abuja during the commissioning of Nigerian Army Welfare Limited by Guarantee, NAWLG/Gasland Nigeria Limited, LPG plant in Mambila Barracks, and the launch of LPG Micro Distribution Centres in Nigeria Army barracks and cantonments.

    Read Also: Marketers warn against imminent petrol scarcity

    According to him, the legislation  would increase cooking gas selling points across the country by about 10,000, which is about the same number of filling stations in Nigeria.

    Kachikwu said the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, was already working with stakeholders in the LPG value chain, and had set a target  to build at least one gas filling plant across all the 774 local government areas in the country within the next three years.

  • ‘Kachikwu, Baru have transformed oil sector’

    The reduced incidences of oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta have been attributed to the working relationship between Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru.

    The Niger Delta Oil Communities Agenda (NIDOCA), in a statement yesterday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Comrade Emma Akpovoka, said Kachikwu and Baru have shown efficiency in the recorded achievements of the petroleum industry.

    The group, which lauded the duo for their consistent drive for transparency and transformation, noted that these have paved way for more investors into the oil and gas business.

    The statement reads: “In the last three and half years, a careful review and assessment of happenings in the oil sector showed that Kachikwu and Baru have worked collectively to attain the remarkable achievements and transformation in the sector.

    “Though President Muhammadu Buhari is the substantive Petroleum Minister, however, Kachikwu and Baru have initiated and implemented policies to the satisfaction of Mr. President. Under the present administration, the oil sector has witnessed tremendous reorganisation, become more effective, efficient and transparent to investors.

    “It is evident that Kachikwu and Baru have maintained a quality working relationship, which was why they have been able to efficiently address or minimise pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta.

    “We do believe that Kachikwu and Baru are still determined to do more and consolidate on the present achievements in the Next Level administration”.

  • FEC approves N1.4b for DPR building design

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC)  meeting yesterday approved N1.4 billion for the design of 12 floor building design for the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Trade and Industry, Okechukwu Enelamah after six hours meeting.

    The contract, he said, is for the design of the head office of DPR in Abuja, which is currently situated in Lagos State.

    ‘Today we got the approval to begin the process to relocate them to Abuja.” he said

    When asked if the sum was not too much for designing the building, he said that it only represented about 2% of the proposed N35 billion cost of the building.

    He said: “FEC approved 1.4 billion for the design of DPR Head office in Abuja. The contract was awarded to Messers Arteck Practice Limited to design a 12 floor building at a plot which has already been allocated to by the FCT.

    “They are currently based in Lagos and are the regulatory and supervisory arm of the Ministry of Petroleum, and is instrumental in terms of income generation. It will enable DPR move to Abuja.” he said

    On the seeming high cost of the design, he said: “The contract was awarded to DPR tenders board, their bid was the lowest, the highest bid  was about N3 billion. The total projected potential cost for the building when it is done is about N35 billion.

    “So if you look at that as a percentage of the work, it is absolutely insignificant, in international terms it is very very justifiable, it is less than two per cent.”

    He added “The FCT did mention in our deliberation that because of the new zoning policies, the previous plan which was to build a car park of another five floors along with the 12 floors  have to be changed a little bit because they are taking possession of additional green area that were assigned to them.

    “So they will build a lot of parking … within the building. So I think because of the amount of work to be done and in line with international practice, it is quite frankly very reasonable.

    “Let me also say that part of the programmes we have pursued in the ministry, is how to get a lot of our parastatals to become independent and self financially generating agency and so get out of federal budget. …. has done that, DPR is the one to do that next.

    “So a lot of funding for this development is going to come out of DPR itself not out of federal budgeting.

    “The plan is that if we continue the way we are doing, a lot of federal agencies will be out of federal budgeting and be self-reliant. Be it PPPRA, DPR, PEF, that is the game plan. So far we have exited NCMB and we are near existing DPR and then PEF.” he stated

    Enelamah said that FEC also approved N1.55billion  consultancy contract for the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which is part of the Federal Government social investment programs.

    Read also: FEC approves N1.3bn contracts to reposition NAN, NTA, FRCN

    He said: “We got an approval from the Federal Executive Council to award a contract to engage a Program Management Office Consultant and System Provider, for the GEEP at N1.556billion.

    According to him, the contract which is for providing services for 4.6 million people, is a viable contract.

    He also pointed out that the program has provided credit for over 1.5million Nigerians

    Enelamah also said that FEC approved the establishment of a Committee to come up with alternative ways to add to what government is doing in financing infrastructure.

    He said that it will be a committee of Ministers and ICRC, NSIA, Africa Finance Corporation and some private sector players.

    Stressing that he will Chair the committee, Enelamah said that other members include Minister of Finance, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister Transportation, Minister of Water Resources and Minister of State for Aviation.