The Bankers’ Committee has committed to resolving the N25 billion debt owed by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to gas companies.
The committee affirmed that such move in a couple of weeks would help ensure steady production and supply of gas to the nation’s power sector.
Rising from its 317th meeting in Lagos yesterday, the Bankers’ Committee said it has resolved to offset the debt, having been encouraged by the increase in the price of gas. The price of gas had recently been increased from $1.50 to $2.50 with a transportation cost of $0.8.
Speaking to journalists on behalf of the committee, the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Mr. Jubril Aku, said the committee has set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to support the nation’s gas-to-power programme.
He said the committee was very concerned about the availability of gas and power without which the economy would be adversely affected, adding that of the 26 generating power plants in the country, 23 are run on gas.
Aku said the upward review of gas price from $1.50 per million cubic feet (mcf) to $2.50mcf and an additional $0.80 as transportation costs for new capacity were measures to make it competitive for gas companies and to reduce gas-to-power burden on suppliers.
The Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, said the committee was not happy at the pace the National Biometric Identification was going.
“We are not happy at the pace which it is being enforced. It is extremely important to the financial systems. The banks are urged to intensive efforts to increase the registration of its customers,” he said.
He said though there are challenges of infrastructure, especially as banks are not at the same level in infrastructure and also how to gather customers again to register them, but the importance of the project is very critical to safety of banking transactions in the country.
Wigwe said the committee has agreed that banks should step up campaign to sensitise the public on the importance of biometric registration.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at a recent inter-agency press briefing between the CBN, Ministries of Petroleum Resources, Power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), had said that the bank, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, will provide some forms of intervention to the gas-to-power sector.
The engagements had revealed that there is an outstanding legacy debt of about N25 billion.
Emefiele had said the decision was to give support by ensuring that existing gas suppliers are given some confidence by ensuring that the existing debts are paid off.”
He noted that power is very essential to unlock the potentials of the Nigerian economy. – The Sun.
