FG plans electricity subsidy for indigent

FG plans electricity subsidy for indigent
Nigerians
on october 22, 2013 at 6:31 pm in news
Abuja – The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran
Maku, said plans had reached advanced stage to
subsidise cost of electricity for poor Nigerians under
the Power Sector Roadmap.
Maku said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the second
edition of the monthly briefing by the Ministry of
Information on the performance of the economy.
He allayed fears that many Nigerians, especially
those in rural areas, cannot afford the cost of
electricity under private investors.
According to Maku, the Federal Government has
guaranteed that all Nigerians, irrespective of their
social status, will have unhindered access to
electricity when private investors eventually take
over the power sector.
Maku said the planned subsidy and other
programmes were all geared toward long term
sustainability and genuine transformation of the
sector.
“ We have put in place all other support institutions
to ensure the efficient functioning of the electricity
market.
“The payment of severance package to PHCN staff
is to be concluded by the end of October and
physical handover to the new owners thereafter.’’
Maku said the successes recorded so far and the
projected growth in the sector represented the
ingenuity of the transformation to turn deficit into
opportunities for investments in the power sector.
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the
President, noting that the benefits of the planning
and investments in the sector in the past few years
would soon begin to yield results.
Maku said the Federal Government planned to
address most of the challenges facing the 10 new
power plants and inaugurate those that have yet to
be inaugurated before the end of 2013.
He assured Nigerians that they would experience
improvements in the power sector from 2014 and
beyond.
The minister stated that more funds from the
private sector would be put into distribution facilities
in the years to come. (NAN)