BREAKING NEWS, Power
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On Tuesday, September 8, the Senate was told how Nigeria spent N2.740 trillion in 16 years on power sector without commensurable improvement in electricity supply
SINCE 1999, Nigeria has spent N2.740 trillion on its power sector. The Senate heard on Tuesday, September 8, from Godknows Igali, permanent secretary, ministry of Power, in his submission at the Senate’s two-day investigative hearing on the troubled power sector.
Igali told the Senate ad-hoc committee on the Power Sector, headed by Abubakar Kyari, senator from Borno State, that of the N1.6 trillion appropriation since 1999, N948 billion was actually released to the ministry of Power and its agencies within the period. He said disclosed that N155 billion was also released to the ministry to cushion the effects of the shortfalls in expenditure within the same period.
At inception of democracy in 1999, Igali said the government inherited a sector where everything was dormant with no new generating units built except the one built in the 1960s, which prompted the need for consistent investment in the sector.
He noted that for over 100 years when the first electric power came to Lagos, power remained in the hand of government because there was no law allowing individuals to invest in the sector.
Igali said: “It is a heavy capital intensive industry but if you get it right people are ready to pay. We have not been consistent with our investment. From 1999, despite the interest of government to infuse money in the sector, government has not been able to meet what the sector requires.”
According to the permanent secretary, the country’s electricity generation has risen to about 4600 megawatts from 3500 megawatts in 2013. He attributed the rise in generation capacity to reduced vandalism of power equipment.
The permanent secretary also said that the National Independent Power Projects, NIPP, was the greatest contributor of power to the National Grid.
He said that post-privatisation era had helped top reduce vandalism of power equipment.
On the disengaged staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Igali said only 2000 had not been verified and paid their severance allowances. He explained that most of those involved who claimed to be former staff of the PHCN had no valid documents to back up their claim.
He, however, said that the final verification would soon be conducted to determine the veracity of the claimants.
James Olotu, managing director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, told the committee that the NIPP, received $8.23 billion, which came from the excess crude account and translating to about N1.640 trillion the NIPP spent on its activities.
The committee wondered why local governments were not represented on the governing board of the NIPP even when they are part of the sponsors of the NIPP projects.
Olotu explained that the framers of the NIPP law might have thought that bringing in local government chairmen as the NIPP board members would make it unwieldy, considering the number of local governments. He said governors on the board would be representing local governments in their geo-political zones.
Bukola Saraki, at the inauguration of the committee two weeks ago, charged it to conduct a comprehensive probe of allegations of questionable practices in the sector between 1999 and 2015.
— Sep 9, 2015 @ 14:20 GMT
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