The Nigerian Senate says it discovered $400 million in intervention money held in banks and other financial institutions for several years.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, stated this at a meeting with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
According to Akpoti-Uduaghan, $30 million of the uncovered intervention money was planned for capacity building in oil and gas, while $20 million was set aside for women in oil and gas firms. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also has a $50 million local content development fund for research and development in the oil and gas industry.
The Senator questioned why the money were laying dormant without being used by Nigerians and urged the Nigeria Local Content Development Board, NCDMB, to make financing possibilities available to ordinary Nigerians.
According to her, the monies can entice oil and gas equipment manufacturers to Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS) facilities while also increasing industrial firms’ access to reasonable financing.
However, in his answer, NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Engr Felix Ogbo, confirmed that the $300 million designated for the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund was still held by the Bank of Industry.
He added that the whole $300 million has been released, and that the total amount disbursed thus far is $330 million, stressing that when recipients pay, the money would be given to those who wish to borrow.
cc: Vanguard Ng
