FG Releases N460bn Capital Expenditure – Udoma

The Federal Government has released N460 billion out of the N2.1 trillion capital expenditure for 2018, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma has said.

Speaking yesterday on the side lines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Bali Indonesia, the minister said more money Would be released if the National Assembly approved the borrowing plans of the government.

“The amount of capital releases as of today is N460 billion. We just need a resolution of the National Assembly on the Borrowing Plan then we can fund it even more ”, he said.

He added: “We are spending money on N-Power, School feeding, Trader Moni. We are conscious to meet the needs of the vulnerable.”

Also speaking, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, after meeting with a delegation of Afrexim Bank from Cairo said Nigeria might likely increase its shareholding in the bank because “there is a lot of value’’.

“We discussed the setting up a medical park in the FCT which is a discussion that has been going on for quite a long time. There was also a discussion on the establishment of Quality Assurance Centres in Ogun and other parts of the country,” Zainab said

“We also discussed the setting up of Industrial Parks in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in three Centres- Lekki, Kano and one in Kaduna.

“Trade Agreements are not things that the government will just enter into without due consultations with stakeholders in the private sector. We need to discuss with the private sector and agree with operators in that sector before we join. The discussions have been going on but we have not reached a consensus. We need to reach a consensus before we agree, ‘’ she added.