The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has said the $3bn loan being sought by the Federal Government from the World Bank would be deployed for reforms in the Power Sector.
The Minister made this known during an interview with Journalists on the Sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings holding in Washington DC, United States.
Mrs Ahmed, who is leading the Federal Government’s delegation to the meeting said She would be holding further discussions with the Management of the Bank to present how the fund would be disbursed for the Project.
She added that based on the plan of the Federal Government for the Power Sector, the Loan would be used for the development of Transmission and Distribution networks to enhance the delivery of electricity.
The Finance Minister also emphasized that the Loan would be used in addressing some of the challenges that the Country is currently facing in the Power sector. She further added that the Federal Government was considering placing excise duties on carbonated Drinks in order to boost its revenue base, saying value added tax increase had been proposed as another streams of revenue such as excise duties on carbonated drinks.
