By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, says Federal Government has saved about N15 billion from the new fertilizer policy.

Maku stated this during the mid-term report of the ministry of Trade and Investment held in Abuja. He said that federal government made the savings through the introduction of direct distribution of fertilizer to farmers, eliminating middle men and corruption in the process.

By so doing, he said that the federal government has been able to save N15 billion having blocked all the leakages where corruption were perpetrated by those involved in the fertilizer distribution to farmers. With the new policy, the minister said that farmers do not only get fertilizers at cheaper rate, but also receive them in good time.

The minister said the federal government is poised at taking corruption out of the system to create room for quality and better economic growth. He further said that Nigeria should emulate China, which it has many similarities with, by becoming a global player in economic growth, adding that with the active population and other potentials Nigeria is noted for, it has the capacity to become world destination for investment in a record of time and better society for the younger generation to live.

“I believe that Nigeria is the next investment destination in the world. Where we are going, Nigeria as a populous nation in the continent, is transforming into a vibrant economy our children will be proud to live in as a different world. We ought to be pace setters in the world, if we can utilise what we have. Nigeria has lost billions of naira and jobs to wrong policies in the past but we are now changing the direction to turn the misfortune into opportunity,” he said.

On the proposed deregulation of the down stream sector of the economy, the minister said that about 20 licences await prospective investors, who are interested in building refineries across the country. This, he said, is in addition to six new electricity distribution terminals to be constructed before 2015 to ensure stable power supply in the country.

Maku also stated that the federal government would soon perform the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the Mambila Power Plant expected to generate about 3,200 mega watts of electricity before the end of the year.