The Federal Government has requested a loan of $450 million from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to expand transmission to wheel up to 20,000 megawatts of electricity.
Vice President Namadi Sambo who made the request, also called on the IDB to support projects that cut across the African continent, while still supporting the Nigerian economy.
The Vice President made the call in his Royal Guest Palace, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, when he received the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, who paid him a courtesy visit.
Sambo, having expressed the deep appreciation for the continued support and cooperation of the IDB to Nigeria, stated that all the approvals granted by the Bank over the years have received the ratification by the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The Vice President used the opportunity to call on the Bank to consider the construction of a road linking Lagos to Abidjan in the Republic of Côte d’ivoire.
He also requested them to extend their support to the Nigerian private sector in the areas of education, aviation, agriculture, while calling on them to partner States in Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the execution of priority projects.
Vice President Sambo noted the progress made by government in the power sector, construction and expansion of deep seaports especially those of Lekki and Ibaka, as well as the development of the Aluminum Smelter Company, where he stated that efforts are being geared towards ensuring the participation of investors in the mining sector.
On the gateway office the Vice President promised that the finalization agreement will soon be sorted out.
Sambo further said that for the progress being made in the power sector to be meaningful more funds need to be injected in the transmission component. He said that Nigeria will need about $450 million from the Bank to expand transmission to wheel up to 20,000 megawatts of electricity.
In his response the President of IDB, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, said the purpose of his visit was to use the occasion to give a push to the Nigeria-IDB cooperation .
He said that the Bank has approved three out of the five projects submitted from Nigeria. They include construction of four new science secondary schools in Kaduna State, worth $17,9m, construction of 300 bed specialist hospital in Kaduna State at $43.15m and the Zaria water supply project worth $81.0m.
He explained that the Jigawa State rural development project put at $32.40m and the bilingual education programme for Borno , Gombe and Niger States worth $30.53m were under consideration.
Dr. Ali was full of appreciation for the visit of Nigerian parliamentarians to the Bank, which he described as fruitful. He reminded the Vice President on the finalization of the gateway agreement.
He promised to look at all the requests made with a view to giving them favourable and accelerated consideration. He said the IDB is always pleased to accord priority to projects involving more than one member country.
The IDB President said further that the Bank was currently working on a trans-Saharan road involving several countries including Chad, Niger, Algeria,Tunisia and Nigeria just to mention a few that will provide a platform for a commuter travel from Africa to Europe by road. He stated that approval will soon be given to the Lekki seaport worth the sum of $150m.
Present at the meeting were the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abubakar Shehu Shuni,
Isiyaku Rabiu , Kashim Bukar Shettima and Yahaya Imam. Others were Umar Ahmed, Counsel General Nigeria Embassy, and Salah Mansour, Manager West African division of IDB and a few others.
