The Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday said it had so far paid about N80.97 billion to the Federal Ministry of Power this year.

According to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, the amount was to cover various items in line with the implementation of the power sector roadmap.

She specifically alleged that following approval by President Goodluck Jonathan, N8.27 billion was released last week to the power ministry for the distribution companies (DISCOs) and generating companies (GENCOs).

She revealed that her ministry had on May 23, this year announced the payment of N72.7 billion to the ministry of power.

She purported that the amount included the sum of N45 billion paid to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers as part of the power privatization programme, and also included the sum of N5 billion paid for the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO).

Other beneficiaries were the power ministry headquarters, PHCN, National Rural Electrification Agency, National Electricity Regulatory Commission, National Power Training Institute, National Electricity Liability Management Limited/GTE (NELMCO) and Bulk Trader.

According to her, a breakdown of the figures showed that N59, 089,522,721 billion was paid in the first quarter, while N13, 733,822,832 was paid in the second quarter.

The minister of Finance however, frowned at media reports that quoted the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Mr. Patrick Ikhariale, as criticising her for allegedly failing to release funds meant for the power sector.

According to a statement the minister’s Special Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu to  Okonjo-Iweala, said that the  statement, if it was truly made, is not only completely wrong but tends to personalize an important national issue.

Speaking further she said it also betrays a limited understanding of the current status of power sector financing which the administration of President Jonathan has made a key priority in the implementation of the power roadmap.

Against this background, she argued that the notion that she was personally responsible for current power supply challenges facing the country was "absolutely wrong and cannot be justified by the facts."