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FG mobilises over N2.4tr additional financing for sectoral projects

By on October 22, 2014

Over  N2.4 trillion additional financing outside annual budgetary provisions has been mobilised from global multilateral agencies and financial institutions across the world to enable various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to execute sectoral projects across the country in the last few years, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has  disclosed.

Efforts to plug leakages in the system through the  introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System (GIFMIS) also yielded further dividends with the uncovering of 60,000 ‘ghost workers’ which led to a savings of N160 billion.

Giving a scorecard of her ministry in the last one year, in Abuja yesterday,  Okonjo-Iweala, said the ministry had been relentless in mobilising additional financing for the various sectors, including agriculture, power, transport, works, water, aviation, and Information Communication Technology (ICT), among others.
She stated that about N97 billion was mobilised for the Ministry of Agriculture from such agencies as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), multilateral financial institutions as well as the China Eximbank, which helped it in its aggressive revolution in the sector.
The minister also disclosed that the Second Niger Bridge also got about N80 billion mobilised for while another $200 million is being pursued from the China Eximbank.

The East-West road also got N50 billion (about N230 million) to ensure its completion while the water sector got $1.7 billion and $1.5 billion for the power sector by way of guarantees and direct financing.

She stated that $100 million was mobilised for the ICT sector to pursue the Galaxy Backbone infrastructure project, just as the aviation sector attracted $500 million China Eximbank facility to build five new terminals in five airports across the country.

The minister also listed another $500 million for the Abuja Light Rail project, $570 million for the Ministry of Environment, and $277 million health sector financing, among others.
Okonjo-Iweala, who took time to explain steps being taken to sustain a robust macroeconomic fundamentals, said although the global economy is in a period of volatility with reversed growth, the federal government was proactively taking steps to ensure that neither the falling oil prices arising from market forces nor quantity shocks would affect the economy negatively.

 

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