Nigerians Express Surprise as Ministry of Power Budget N17.9m to Fuel, Maintain its Generators in 2022

• The Federal Ministry of power is the policy-making branch in charge of power distribution in the country.
• To achieve its mandate to ensure electricity supply in the country, the ministry of power is supported by four agencies
• The agencies are a core part of the ministry of power mandate to ensure adequate power supply in the country

Despite being entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring adequate power supply in the country, the Federal Ministry of Power has budgeted N17.9 million to buy fuel for its generators and plants in 2022.

This is according to details of its budget proposal submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, October 8, 2021 to the National Assembly.

The provisions for fuel are specifically for the ministry agencies which include National Rural Electrification Agency, Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) Hqtrs, National Power Training Institute, Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited.

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Breakdown

A breakdown of the budget shows N12.6 million (N12,658,535) will go into the purchase of fuel while N5.3 million (N5,300,000) will be for the maintenance of the agencies plants and generators.

The National Rural Electrification Agency will be spending N1.54 million to buy fuel for its generators.

The agency was established to enable the provision of cheap electricity supplies for residential, commercial, industrial, and social activities in the country's rural and peri-urban areas.

While the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency has N4 million set out in its budget for fuel expenditures.

NEMSA is particularly in charge in the area of electricity supply in the country.

For the National Power Training Institute, where personnel and training activities are conducted will spend N1.8 million on fuel purchase and 2 million for generator, plant maintenance.

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For the smooth running of operation, the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited will be spending N8.6 million out of which N5.30 million will go into fuel purchase and the balance for generator maintenance.

Nigerians speak

Some Nigerians interviewed by Legit.ng expressed surprise that the ministry of power still had a budget for fueling generators.

In separate interviews, Tosin Oluwa and Kunle Folarin both stated that the provision is a sign that the long-standing epileptic power supply is not going away anytime soon.

Buhari's Minister Reveals How Much FG Will Borrow to Fund 2022 Budget Deficit

The finance minister, Zainab Ahmed has reacted to the federal government’s recent borrowing pattern amidst tough economic realities.

According to Ahmed, the FG would need to borrow more funds to finance the deficit in the 2022 budget.

The minister who defended the FG shed more light on the nation’s excessive borrowing noted that it is still on a minimal level.

Source: Legit.ng