The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Committee, on Thursday in Abuja said it spent N70 billion on projects from July till date.
The Chairman of the Committee, Dr Christopher Kolade, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the activities of the committee.
SURE-P was established in January by the Federal Government to oversee the effective implementation of projects funded with the savings from the partial removal of subsidy on petroleum products.
According to him, the projects include the construction and rehabilitation of roads across the country and the provision of health facilities.
Kolade explained that the committee first received N62 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria in July, adding that it still had N7.5 billion yet to be accessed from the bank.
He said that the projects being executed by the committee were projects that had been identified by the Federal Government across the country.
He said that members of the committee had been divided into sub-committees to ensure the effective supervision of the projects.
“We have had face-to-face discussions with contractors at the site of some of these projects and face-to-face discussion with the beneficiaries of these projects.’’
“These projects are in the areas of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in some parts of the country.’’
He noted that the committee was aware of the situation of MCH and had constructed and equipped 675 MCH facilities in some parts of the country.
According to him, the committee has also deployed more than 3,000 mid-wives to manage the facilities.
Kolade said that the committee was leaving no stone unturned by making sure that projects were completed on schedule and verified before payments were made.
He recalls that the partial removal of subsidy from petroleum products had created a lot of misconception, adding that the decision was for the overall interest of Nigerians.
In his remarks, Mr Sam Ohabunwa, Coordinator of the Sub-Committee on Niger Delta, said that before now, the annual budgetary provision for the Niger Delta was grossly inadequate.
He said that with the inception of SURE-P, the story had changed.
“We held talks with contractors and the communities and the results is there for everyone to see with the projects in these areas.’’ (NAN)