Nigeria’s F.G Plans to Commit $3 Billion to Power Sector in 24 Months

The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed a plan to commit $3 billion to the power sector in the next two years.

The spending is expected to raise the current 4,900 megawatts (MWs) to at least 7,000MWs.

This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Infrastructure, Ahmad Zakari, during a virtual meeting organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

Zakari noted that besides the $500 million loans the government secured from the World Bank earlier this year, it is expecting another facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB), saying that the gestures are a demonstration of confidence in the reforms of President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Zakari noted that with renewed financial discipline in the sector following the recent intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), electricity tariffs are expected to hit N100 billion in the short to medium-term.

He stressed that if the sector were driven by the appropriate economics, there would be enough energy for the people, as the government plans to end subsidies by the end of the year.

He stated that the Buhari administration was focused on moving from the traditional way of funding subsidies or using the liquidity in the sector to fund consumption. Rather, he said, the subsidy budget would go into infrastructure that would ultimately lead to growth.