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The Federal Government has set up
a committee to review priority projects of Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs) for effective coordination and actualisation.

Vice President Namadi Sambo
constituted the committee at a meeting with top officials of some
ministries and stakeholders in Abuja.

Mr, Sambo said the committee, to
be headed by the Minister of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman, had
two weeks to complete the assignment and present its report to his
office.

The meeting was called to
strategise and recommend appropriate funding for infrastructural
development in the country, outside the national income.

The Vice-President also directed
the Ministry of Finance to meet with the 36 state governors to discuss
“with a view to harmonising the 2011 budget proposals for their
various infrastructural development projects for that year, to avoid
duplication of projects’’.

He said the government had
identified four critical areas requiring substantial amount of funding
to include hydro power projects with Mambila and Zungeru as priority
areas.

He said the Gurara Phase II and coal power projects would be given medium term priority.

Other projects to be accorded
priority are roads, railways and airports; multipurpose dams,
information and communication technology and projects in the Ministry
of Niger Delta.

Mr. Sambo maintained that proper
coordination and planning must be embarked upon for the government to
surmount the challenges of projects funding.

He suggested that cheap and concessional funds should be sourced for infrastructural development.

“With the setting up of the
Sovereign Wealth Fund by the National Economic Council, Nigeria is
better positioned to access infrastructural funding programmes of these
international financial institutions,” Mr. Sambo said.

In his contribution, the Minister
of National Planning commended the vice president for the new
initiative of ensuring adequate funding for infrastructural development.

He said Nigeria needed about N32
trillion to deliver adequate infrastructure as contained in the Vision
20:2020 blueprint, adding that N13 trillion of the amount was targeted
to be raised from the private sector.