Nigerian government approves $43.3m for OPEC fund

Nigerian Minister of Information Mr Labaran Maku

Nigerian government approves $43.3m for OPEC fund

The Nigerian government has approved the payment of 43.3 million dollars to settle the remaining part of the country’s contribution to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fund for international development.

Information Minister, Labaran Maku, told State House Correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting that the approval followed a memo by Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The memo, Maku explained, sought approval to complete the payment of a pledge which was made in Vienna in 1976 to contribute to the fund - which enables oil-producing countries to put aside some money to assist countries that do not produce oil.

“In 1976, Nigeria made a promise to contribute $177.7 million to the fund and over this period the country has been making its own contribution, but earlier this year there was a meeting of the fund in Vienna and there was a need for all member countries to complete their own contribution”

The minister said the fund was very important because it has helped a number of developing countries particularly in the South to cope with some of the pressures they go through.

The money is expected to be paid in instalments between 2013 and 2020.

Recommendations

Mr Maku also said that Council received the report of the Presidential Project Assessment Committee, which was presented sector by sector as directed by the president.

According to him, the power sector, which was the area of focus at the meeting, recommended gas supply as one of the major issues to be addressed. He said both the ministers of power and petroleum resources informed council that the gas master plan was already on ground and everything was being done to ensure that it was delivered, so that by the time power projects were completed, there would be gas to run them.

“The NIPP projects which will give this country over 4000MW electricity are at about 80 percent completion in the field”, he stressed.

Another key recommendation by the committee was that attention should be paid to uncompleted dams all over the country, which could generate a lot of hydro-electric power for the country.

NP/Ekata