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FG denies plans to raise N5tr from asset sale, disburses N53m for inventions

By Abosede Musari and Chuka Odittah, Abuja
15 February 2017   |   3:17 am
The Federal Government has debunked claims that it plans to raise N5 trillion from assets sale in the next four years.A statement yesterday by the media adviser to the minister, James Akpandem James.....

James Akpandem James

The Federal Government has debunked claims that it plans to raise N5 trillion from assets sale in the next four years.A statement yesterday by the media adviser to the minister, James Akpandem James, said: “The attention of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning has been drawn to publications in a section of the media indicating that the Federal Government is planning to raise about N5 trillion from assets sale in the next four years.

“The publications claim that the projected amount is contained in the Economy Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) being finalized by the Federal Government. It has become necessary to state that the ERGP that is being finalized and which will soon be presented to the public has no recommendation for raising that amount of revenue from sale of assets,’’ the statement said.

It however indicated that to achieve the objectives of the plan, 60 strategies have been developed for implementation with four key execution priorities: Stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, agriculture and food security, sufficiency in energy (power and petroleum products), industrialization and focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday released N53 million to encourage inventors for the commercialisation of their works.Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who gave out the funds to the 56 inventors, said the gesture would encourage small and medium scale enterprises as well as job and wealth creation.

The funds disbursed under the 2016 Presidential Standing Committee on Inventions and Innovations (PSCII) were meant to empower the beneficiaries to improve, mass produce, commercialize their products where necessary and register the patents.

He urged the beneficiaries to deploy the grants to improve on their creativity, inventiveness and innovation, warning that the ministry will monitor how the funds were being used, saying level of funding will increase when the National Research and Innovation Council eventually became operational.Onu informed that the 56 beneficiaries were carefully selected from more than 400 applications, after authenticating their claims.

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