allAfrica.com: Nigeria: The Power Contracts Probe (Page 1 of 1)

Given the mind-boggling revelations from the current probe of the power sector from 1999 to 2007 by the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel in Abuja, the issues involved have become such that the general public can no longer be indifferent.

It is quite easy for any casual observer to quickly dismiss this as one of those probes whose outcome would never see the light of the day in view of our past experiences as a nation, but to turn a blind eye to it, is to legitimise impunity in our national lives and if care is not taken may also spell disaster for whatever remains of attempts to revamp the nation's comatose economy. Electricity is the live blood of economic progress, the most important discovery of man in the quest for economic prosperity. Since 1970s this country's industrial outputs had progressively declined with attendant factories collapse, loss of jobs, declining national productivity and total infrastructural decay, all because the power sector has been recklessly and corruptly mismanaged by successive administrations.

Today the nation is being reminded that unless the power sector is revived and outages eliminated, Nigeria's economy may be several decades behind other developing countries. The outlook for Nigeria's economic future looks grim and despondent. Still, the revelations of the last two weeks can only be more discomforting and requiring of serious national attention in order that they may not be swept under the carpet.

When the probe initially began, it was alleged that about 16 billion dollars spent in the sector in the last eight years could not be accounted for apart from not yielding any result. The exact amount spent itself is still a subject of another controversy between the presidency and some of its agencies as conflicting figures are daily being given. And just as the nation was still coming to terms with that, came the revelation of another 10 billion naira inflated contracts.

One of the contracts was the New - Haven - Ikot Ekpene Powerline awarded for initial sum of N13 billion but was suddenly inflated to N19 billion. The distance of the transmission lines was increased from 168 kilometers to 340 kilometers. Similarly, the Afam transmission lines awarded for N3.3 billion was inflated by 100 per cent. None of the contracts according to the Bureau for Public Procurement passed the due process test. And just as the public was still trying to grapple with such stunning revelation came another shocker from the Governor of Cross Rivers State and former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr. Lyel Imoke who while testifying before the panel claimed that "It took the last administration over five years to understand the power sector." He said the policy somersaults on power can only be explained by the long period it took the administration to understand the sector. Then, to add insult to injury, he postulated that "Nigeria will not see the benefits of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) expenditures until all the component parts are integrated. For instance, some of the NIPPs were conceived and executed without planning for the gas supplies. The Geregu and Papalanto are clear examples. Perhaps this explains why many of the cement factories in the areas cannot even operate at optimum capacity culminating in the current high price of the commodity .

Furthermore, as if Nigerians were not shocked enough, came another bomber that the Corporate Affairs Commission in Abuja had declared 34 of the companies that handled the contracts in the power sector within eight years of Obasanjo's administration as illegal. The 34 companies collectively won a contract valued at N6.2 billion. They were paid between 60 and 100 per cent mobilisation contrary to the usual 25 per cent and without evidence of Advanced Payment Guarantees. In short, the companies were not in the CAC register. Revelations, revelations and revelations. More are still to come in the days ahead.

It is commendable that the House of Representatives has chosen to probe the sector and given the seriousness with which the House Committee has taken its assignment, there is no doubting the commitment of the members towards ensuring that the true position of the sector is established. But much as we do not doubt the Reps, we are of the opinion that this is a serious national issue that every Nigerian must show interest in and ensure that the final report is not swept under the carpet as was the case with several probes in the past. We therefore call on all pressure groups in the country ranging from the Labour movement to professional and manufacturers associations to keep a tab on the probe and work to ensure that the rape of Nigeria's resources with so much destruction to our industrial progress is not a white wash.

Lastly, in view of the strategic importance of the power sector to our national economic survival, we call for a serious national debate on the future of the sector. Given the scandalous revelations of Governor Imoke and others, the progress of our strategic power sector is not one that can be left in the hands of a few selfserving officials in the presidency. The era of groping in the dark with attendant policy somersaults by ill-informed government apparachicks must stop. It is time to bring our power sector to public arena for a meaningful progress.

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