FG moves to boost power supply, ratifies $186.6m Afam power plant

Okays completion of Baro River Port
The Federal government on Wednesday ratified the Afam emergency fast power plant ‎in a bid to improve power supply in the country.

This came to fore yesterday when the Minister of Power, works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola briefed State House Correspondents after the Federal executive council meeting presided over by Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

“The total package for the Afam power plant is $186.6million and the contract for the substation is $2.207million for the components that are offshore and N133.184million for the local components.‎

Fashola said the council ratified the earlier approval given for General Electric to facilitate the project so that the country can complete 240MW of emergency power through 830MW turbines in 2017.

He disclosed that council also approved the contract for the construction and rehabilitation of the sub-station to enable the evacuation of the power, once the turbines are installed.

“The other one is consistent with infrastructure development in the country is the memo for the Afam emergency fast power which is part of the ministry’s roadmap for incremental power to the grid.

Fashola also said FEC gave approval to reimburse Kwara state government to undertake the construction of the Kayamakishe road which is a road that serves the Agricultural belt that produces Agro Product between Oyo and Kwara state.

He said Kwara state has applied to be allowed to take that road on the basis that they will be refunded at sometime in the future.

” We have actually received anticipatory approval from Mr. President and Council has ratified that approval for them to continue. The road contract is N7.943billion, he added.

In a related development, the Federal government yesterday also announced approval for the completion of Baro River Port in Niger State.

This was disclosed by the minister of transportation, Rotimi Ameachi‎ who was joined by Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, Finance minister, Kemi Adesoun and Fashola while briefing State House Correspondents.

Amaechi said the cost is not more than N500million as there are just completion equipment.

“We got an approval for the completion of Baro River Port, the council deliberated on three major contract that will assist us in the completion which is the purchase of forklifts. We hope that in the next four to six months we should be able to complete the Baro River Port.”

“The minister of works was also directed to look at the roads leading to the River Port while on the other side we will look at the revival of the narrow gauge to the Port”,he said.

On why the acting President was yet to swear in the two new ministers cleared by the Senate, Information minister said “Am not sure whether we’ve had the communication from National Assembly. But what I’d do is that I’d probably ask from the acting president or the liaison officer then I’d come and give the you feedback.

Specifically, the Senate had recently screened and confirmed Stephen Ocheni and Suleiman Hassan as ministers, following their nominations by President Muhammadu Buhari in March this year.

Ocheni is from Kogi State which has not had representation in the Federal Executive Council as constitutionally required, since the death of James Ocholi in an accident last year.

Hassan, Gombe State, is to replace Amina Mohammed who left Nigeria’s public service to take up responsibilities at the United Nations.

On her part, Finance Minister said the council approved and permission was granted by Council to sign a multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related matters to prevent us prevent base erosion and profit shifting.

She explained that the administration is very focused on revenue generation and mobilisation and part of that work is to improve our tax collection.

She said: One of the means by which major companies evade is a practice called base erosion and profit shifting which means that the profit that was made in Nigeria using accounting methods shift it to a country that has little or no tax.

“So, really the country in which profit was generated doesn’t get tax, they go and declare those profits in a country that has very low tax. There is a contact among the G20 countries and the OECD to end this and Nigeria was part of those who negotiated this convention and todaycouncil gave us permission to go and sign the conventions.”