FG Plans To Reduce Debts Through Foreign Direct Investment

The Federal Government says it is working hard to ramp up the number of foreign investors in the various sectors of the nation’s economy, and also reduce its reliance on debts.

Speaking to state house correspondents today after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari privately in his office, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian investment promotion commission, Saratu Umar explained that government is looking to improve it’s Investment master plan to develop the economy.

She further underpinned that the commission is committed to advancing foreign direct investment as well as facilitating import substitution.

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Meanwhile, the presidency has announced that nine oil-producing states have received 13 percent derivation totalling 625.43 billion naira, subsidy and SURE-P refunds from the Federation Account in the last two years.

According to a statement issued today by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Mister GARBA SHEHU, the states listed to have received the refunds dating from 1999 to 2021 include Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.

Abia State received 1.1billion naira, Akwa-Ibom, 15billion naira; Bayelsa, 11.6 billion; Cross River, 432 million; Delta State, 14.8 billion; Edo State, 2.2 billion naira; Imo State, 2.9billion; Ondo State, 3.7billion and Rivers State, 12.8 billion naira.

The States were paid in eight instalments between October 2, 2021 and January 11, 2022, while the ninth to twelfth instalments are still outstanding.

The Presidency recalled data obtained from the Federation Account Department, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, which it said showed that a total of 477.2 billion naira was released to the nine states as refund of the 13 percent derivation fund on withdrawal from Excess Crude Account (ECA), without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, leaving an outstanding balance of 287.04 billion naira.

The statement adds that states also got 64.8 billion naira as refund of the 13 per cent derivation fund on deductions made by NNPC without payment of derivation to Oil Producing states from 1999 to December.

The Presidency again revealed that the benefitting states still have an outstanding balance of 860.59 billion naira from the refunds, which it said was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.