FG releases $3.7bn, targets 20,000MW

Vice-President Namadi Sambo on Sunday said efforts were being made to wheel about 20,000 megawatts of electricity for the country to improve power transmission.

A statement by the vice-president’s spokesman, Mr. Umar Sani, quoted Sambo as saying this during a meeting he held with members of the Nigerian-Canadian Association in Toronto, Canada.

Sambo said to achieve the feat, the government had last week approved the release of $3.7bn for the power sector.

“The Federal Government last week approved the sum of $3.7bn to improve power transmission so as to wheel 20,000MW,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Sambo told the gathering that the present administration was committed to the provision of necessary infrastructure.

He added that efforts were being intensified in the areas of power supply, transportation, aviation, Information and Communication Technology, agriculture and the provision of affordable healthcare services.

He also said the administration was addressing educational advancement issues with the provision of good governance.

He called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to come home and be part of the new development.

Sambo appreciated their contributions to national development, adding that it was in recognition of the contributions that a Diaspora bond of N1bn was set up.

The vice-president urged them to key into such a laudable initiative.

Earlier, the association’s President, Mr. Fabian Nwoha, had expressed the desire of the body to contribute positively to the country’s development.

Nwoha, however, said members were holding back due to the reported negative incidences and other vices in Nigeria.

He noted that with the new development being witnessed in the country, citizens in the Diaspora had confidence in the ability of the government to deliver on its promises.

He used the occasion to remind the government of its promise to provide a consular office in Toronto to help ease emerging diplomatic issues.

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Dr. Ojo Madueke, said the association represented the future that would import their talent and know-how into the country.