…..Worries Over N16bn Rural Electrification Projects
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, December 03, (THEWILL) – Senate Committee on Power has commenced investigation of the controversial N3.85 billion management contract between the Federal Government and Canadian firm, Manitoba.
The firm is billed to manage the electricity Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), one of the successor companies of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Members of the Senate had accused the Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, of stalling the contract papers on the $24 million contract during an investigative hearing in Abuja.
The contract is expected to run for three years.
Consequently, the Committee, which is chaired by Senator Philip Aduda, directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Manitoba, Don Priestman, who was present at the meeting to provide a comprehensive list of his staff who are Nigerians to the Committee on Wednesday.
“We need to know how you signed the agreement and what you signed,” said Senator Aduda.
Another panel member, Senator Nurudeen Usman Abatemi, told the power minister, “You can’t push it on BPE, this is a public document and you are the custodian of the agreement”.
Senator Chris Ngige said the $24 million Manitoba deal aimed at improving the electricity transmission system has not translated to electricity in households and general electricity demands.
The Manitoba’s CEO however replied that “It cannot be turned around overnight. There are no magic wand to do that.”
Nonetheless, the Chairman of the Senate panel, Aduda, queried the non-deployment of N16 billion approved for the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to undertake electrification projects across rural communities in Nigeria, in line with the provisions of the Electric Sector Reforms Act (EPSR 2005).
He threatened to begin calls for the sack of REA Managing Director, Kenneth Achugbu, over the non-implementation of the rural electrification projects, which have suffered a chequered management history, which included an alleged N5.2 billion scam that led to its initial closure in 2009.
Nebo told the Senate panel that a little over N6 billion of the approved N16 billion has so far been released to REA, with the balance expected before this month.
The power minister said the $1.7 billion which will be realised from the sale of National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP) will be diverted to strengthen Nigeria’s electricity transmission capacity.
Nebo assured that the Federal Government’s sale of power plants was transparent and observed the tenets of world’s best practice. He tagged the current power privatisation exercise as the “largest in Africa” and also touted in some quarters as “the biggest in the world.”
On problems encountered in the sale and eventual transfer to new owners, Nebo said, “We have encountered some teething problem along the way and those problems are not unexpected.”
BY EMMA UCHE, ABUJA
