The Federal Executive
Council (FEC) has
approved $USD3.45
billion loan to fund projects
in the power sector, resource
mobilisation programme for
states, and adolescent girls’
initiative for learning and
empowerment.
Th e Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister of the
Economy, Wale Edun, announced
this on Monday while briefi ng
State House reporter aft er the
federal cabinet meeting presided
over by President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu at the Council Chambers
of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said the tenure of the fi ve
loans was around 40 years with
a moratorium period of around
10 years and very low interest,
adding that “in the cases of the
either loans, zero interest, some
fees would be incurred.”
On the training and
empowerment of adolescent
girls in Nigeria, the Minister
of Education, Professor Tahir
Mamman, said girls between
the ages of 10 and 20 from 18
participating states would benefi t
from the project to reduce
the number of out-of-school
children.
Th e minister said the
council had reviewed its policy
direction and permitted the
Public Procurement Council
to exercise its powers on the
award of contracts in line with
the provisions of the Public
Procurement Act, thereby
allowing FEC to concentrate on
issues of national importance.
While briefi ng, the Minister
of Humanitarian Aff airs and
Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu,
said the council approved the
Humanitarian and Poverty
Alleviation Trust Fund under a
governing board with the target
of raising $5bn annually from
various sources.
She said the implementation
would be carefully worked out by
members of the committee which
included the minister of fi nance
and other relevant ministers.
Th e minister also said that
FEC also ratifi ed the protocol
on the protection of the rights of
older persons in Nigeria.
Th e Minister of Solid Mineral
Development, Dele Alake, said
the council approved a draft
policy on the entire solid mineral
sector, covering the gamut of oil
activities, operations, guidelines,
regulatory framework, handling,
sourcing, mining, and all the
dynamics in the sector.
Th e minister, who said both
high and low were involved in
illegal mining, disclosed the plan
to rejig the security architecture
with the approval of this policy
which involved inter-security
agency structure to combat the
menace.
“In essence, it gives the solid
mineral ministry to act on all
issues pertaining to deregulation,
…, management, operation of
all the solid minerals sector,
sanitizing the environment
and making it investor friendly
and ensuring the security and
stability of investment and of
course, giving us also a lot of
attractions to both local and
foreign investors,” he added.
Alake said Nigeria would fi nd
itself in economic dire straits in a
couple of years if it failed to make
conscious eff orts to diversify with
the current happening in the
global oil market.
“And if we have an abundance
of solid mineral resources,
why shouldn’t we diversify,
concentrate, exploit judiciously,
profi ciently and effi ciently,
these God-given abundance
resources?” he asked.
FEC okays $3.45bn loan to fi nance power, other projects