On Thursday, the National Executive Council (NEC) put the amount owed by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the federal government from the budget support facility advanced to them at N1,718,705,566,436.25.
Former president Muhammadu Buhari had at various times approved a bridge facility to help state governments meet their financial obligations and repay previous budget support facilities due for repayment.
The matter was reviewed during a meeting of NEC presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, showing that each of the 36 states and the FCT have outstanding liability of 49,105,873,326.75.
The budget support loan to states and the FCT was stopped in July 2023, and a decision was taken to set aside an amount from the Federation Account to take care of the balance.
The NEC received financial updates which indicated that the Excess crude account (ECA) as of September was $473,754.57; Stabilization as of September, 2023
#37,597,965,211.43, and the Current Balance of Natural Resources was
N144,683,136,928.25.
Meanwhile, the council has disclosed plans to channel about $1.52bn in donor funds into 36 Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) across the nation.
It hopes that about 17.5 million jobs will be created while 100,000 farmers nationwide will also get support.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari revealed this to correspondents after the NEC meeting.
The first phase which is already in operation in Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Cross River and the Federal Capital Territory, will gulp over $520 million and will end by 2028.
According to Kyari, the funds are earlier pledges by the African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, who voted $1bn to deliver SAPZs in 24 States at the Norman Borlaug International Dialogue, World Food Prize 202, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, in late October.
“The Vice President who attended the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, met with the president of the African Development Bank. Dr. Adesina, who has already pledged $1 billion to the second phase,” the Minister said.
He added that his ministry made a presentation to the council outlining the collaborative programme with the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, various state governments, and private investors.
Kyari explained, “The seven states are Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo and Cross River, and as I said, the FCT is the eighth partner in this programme.
“The quick wins here are that even in the stage of construction, you will have the opportunity for over 3,000 jobs.
“And at the end of the construction, opportunities will be for almost 500,000 jobs in each zone, that is, for each state, and then also to support about 100,000 farmers.”
He described the SAPZs as a cross-cutting initiative and platform to attract private sector investment, add value to Nigeria’s agro-processing, and unlock opportunities for improved food security and job creation.
The minister said that the programme, which commenced in 2022, saw the active participation of seven states and the FCT, even as the zones will serve as production sites “and hubs for aggregation and processing of agricultural produce.”
Regarding Phase II, Kyari said: “We have already received expressions of interest from about 26 states so far. The second phase is supposed to kick in next year. This first phase will last for five years. And the documentation for Phase Two will begin by next year.
“Only three states (Abia, Adamawa and Yobe) have not expressed interest. But as we were leaving here, one (Abia State) had already signified and are working on sending the expression of interest.”
The council rejected a recommendation to set up the National Flood Management Council to be domiciled in the Office of the Vice President.
The recommendation was made by the Governor Yahaya Bello-led Committee on Flood Mitigation, Adaptation, Preparedness, which argued that the council was necessary “given that flood management is cross-cutting and multi-sectoral, requiring a comprehensive structure guided by strong frameworks and policies.”
But in rejecting the proposal, NEC observed: “Council also noted that the creation of a dedicated office on flood management was not necessary given Mr President’s appointment of a Special Adviser on Climate Change to coordinate, in partnership with other stakeholders, issues related to flooding and Climate Change in Nigeria.”
However, it commended the effort of the committee and called for better coordination and commitment from all stakeholders in the activation of flood intervention activities across the country.
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