Lagos (Platts)--6Apr2009

Nigeria is paying out Naira 777 billion ($5.4 billion) from its extra oil
revenue savings to fund power sector projects in a bid to solve the country's
electricity problem, the state news agency reported Monday.

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the agency
responsible for managing revenues generated by the federal government,
announced the disbursement of the money in Abuja on Sunday, NAN reported.

Nigeria has a special account where it keeps extra oil income that
accrued from the difference in the country's budgeted oil price benchmark and
actual international market prices.

The Federal government in January stopped sharing that extra income among
the three tiers of government following the fall in global oil prices.

But Africa's top oil producer currently faces a problem with electricity
supply, and most of the country suffers long periods of blackouts.

"Since the Naira 776 billion required for the power sector is to be
removed from the excess crude account, it is only legal for the amount to be
distributed vertically and horizontally to all the beneficiaries of the
Federation Account," the commission stated.