New Telegraph

CBN: Energy sector gulps 24% of intervention loans

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that 24 per cent of the portfolio it carries as intervention funds goes to the country’s energy sector. The Director, Development Finance Department at the apex bank, Mr Yusuf Yila, stated this in a chat with journalists at the head office of Ikeja Electric Plc in Lagos yesterday. Yila, who said he and his team were in Lagos as part of their monitoring and evaluation of CBN intervention projects in the state, said that the exercise was necessary in order to ensure that intervention funds are being used for the purposes for which they were obtained.

He said: “As part of the CBN’s development finance function, we do carry out project monitoring and evaluation of some of the loans that we lend through the banks to various sectors of the economy. Energy takes about 24 per cent of the portfolio that we have loaned out and we felt it was important that we should come and see some of the projects being done in the sector.” According to him, the funds loaned to the energy sector are being used to implement the national mass metering programme, as well as to tackle issues such as the shortfall in electricity tariffs. Also speaking with journalists, the Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric Plc , Mrs. Folake Soetan, commended the CBN for its support for players in the electricity value chain.

She said: “As you all know the power sector has had major liquidity issues and the liquidity issues have affected the performance of different players in the sector. But the CBN over the last 18 months has played a critical role in ensuring that there is improved liquidity.” She said that the company’s impressive performance last year was as a result of the funds and support provided by the CBN.

The Ikeja Electric boss, who disclosed that the company had so received over N40billion from CBN intervention, said that it was hoping to get additional funds to enable it implement its projects for this year. The CBN delegation also visited the head office of Eko Electricity Distribution Company as well as the various construction sites of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (Blue Line and Red Line rail projects).

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