- To support states raise funds from capital market
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has clarified that President Muhammadu Buhari has not allocated oil blocs to any individual since he came into office.
The minister made the clarification on Monday in Uyo at the South-South region Town Hall Meeting organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture.
The minister who, according to NAN, was responding to questions by some aggrieved participants from the region over alleged un-equitable distribution of oil blocs, said that the Federal Government would be fair and just in giving out such advantages.
“Since we came into office, the government has not allocated any oil bloc.
“The president has said that he will need to correct the mess created by the past administrations before we begin to think of giving out such advantages.
“The president has emphasised to us, the ministers that there should be no unjustifiable favour and any action we take we must be able to defend it.
“When the time for the oil bloc allocation comes, it will follow very clear due process,’’ he said.
Kachikwu stressed that he was one of those who believed that the South-South people should benefit from oil blocs because it would be part of “giving back to the chicken that laid the eggs.’’
He said it would go a long way to empower the people and make them to engage in genuine oil deals, rather than being contractors to oil companies.
The minister, however, reiterated that when government wants to consider the allocation, it would be given to those who have skills and the finance to develop the blocs.
Kachikwu said that the Federal Government had finalised the Integrated Power Project with Mobil Oil Company that would produce 500 megawatts of power as well as gas pipeline project in Akwa Ibom.
He said the total investment for the project, including provision of infrastructure in the area of locations, was seven billion dollar.
The minister promised that the Federal Government would locate oil depots and modular refineries in the state through private capital intervention.
In addressing the challenges of militancy in the region, Kachikwu said he had reached out to the Niger Delta Avengers for a truce with the Federal Government to end destruction to oil installations.
He said the activity of the militants blowing up oil installations was affecting the economy and government would use all means possible to end it.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who was also at the Town Hall Meeting, assured that the Federal Government would deliver on the developmental projects it promised Nigerians.
According to him, “it is time to end the blame game and move forward to concentrate on the delivery of democracy dividends.”
He said government would deliver the Calabar to Lagos coastal rail line project, the Calabar to Porth Harcourt, and Lagos to Kano rail projects to ease movement of people and goods.
Responding to an allegation from a member of the audience, Amaechi said he did not influence the appointment of the Director-General of Niger Delta Development Commission, Mrs Ibim Seminitari.
He said the insinuation that he lobbied the president to take the position from an indigene of Akwa Ibom for Seminitari in negation of zoning arrangement was wrong.
The minister said that the president had noted the zoning arrangement and correction would be made.
Amaechi also said that government was in the process of restructuring NIMASA in order to reposition it to deliver on its statutory mandate.
In the meantime, the Federal Government on Monday said it would encourage state governments to raise long-term funds from the capital market to finance capital projects.
It said rather than the states looking at the banking sector to raise funds, the capital market would be assisted to play its role in economic development. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, stated these at a meeting with stakeholders in the market, led by the Chairman, Capital Market Master Plan Council, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin. Adeosun said the assistance to be given to the state governments in raising funds from the capital market had been captured in the Fiscal Restructuring Plan, which was already approved by the National Economic Council.
She said, “There is a very aggressive plan to develop housing; the capital market is sitting at the root of financing the sector and we have to find a way to unlock it “We need to create the instruments; we need to de-risk certain sectors; we need to look at procedures. At the moment, we are working on the fiscal sustainability plan and one of the things that we are saying to the state governments is that we want to take you away from the banks.
“The capital market should be your natural source of funding for your long-term projects.” The minister lamented that currently, a lot of people had yet to understand the capital market and what it could do for the development of the country. “There is a lot to be done on your part around literacy, awareness and stakeholder engagement at every level, especially at the political level, because I am not sure every minister truly understands what the capital market means for his portfolio,” she noted.
Mobolurin said the visit was to seek the support of the minister in driving the Capital Market Master Plan (2015-2025). He explained that the capital market was usually neglected and had not found the right attention in the government.
Tribune with additional report from Punch.
