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Nigeria: Okonjo-Iweala, Ezekwesili to Appear Before House Today
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This Day (Lagos)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Stanley Nkwazema
Abuja
Two former ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration - Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili - will appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel today.
Notifying the committee via a letter by their Attorneys, StreamSowers & Kohn, both Okonjo-Iweala and Ezekwesili could not attend the committee's hearing because they were on official assignments.
Okonjo-Iweala, a former Minister of Finance and later Foreign Affairs, is the Managing Director of the World Bank, while Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Solid Minerals and subsequently Education is the Vice-President for Africa of the same institution.
The committee had invited the duo, but they had said that they were not aware of the invitation.
Okonjo-Iweala and Ezekwesili, who were members of the Economic Management team of the former administration, stated in the letter to the committee that they had secured their employers' permission to testify.
They have, however, warned that they would not speak on issues relating to the World Bank, while also requesting the committee to furnish them with details of the public hearing from the date of its commencement.
As at the time of filing this report, it was not clear whether the committee has obliged them their request.
Both women were foundation members of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), which was chaired by the former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The former minister of power and steel and Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, and former managing director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, James Olotu, had said that the former vice-president and Okonjo-Iweala stopped attending NIPP meetings when relationship between Obasanjo and his deputy soured.
Atiku had indicated his willingness to testify before the committee if invited, but had warned that it would be a waste of time, as he had no knowledge of what was going on because he was sidelined.
Apart from her role as the foundation member of the NIPP, Okonjo-Iweala is also expected to shed more light on the $3.9 billion, which she allegedly took from the Excess Crude Account.
The Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC), Hamman Tukur, had revealed at the committee's hearing that Okonjo-Iweala had written the Commission, explaining that the money was a loan.
He had also said that Okonjo-Iweala 's letter to the Commission indicated that the National Assembly had sanctioned the "loan".
The Committee Chairman, Hon, Ndudi Elumelu, had questioned the $464 million loan obtained by the government to finance some of the NIPP projects.
He had said Okonjo-Iweala was expected to provide answers on the terms of the loan and for what purpose.
Ezekwesili is to testify on her role as former head of Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit otherwise known as Due Process.
Mr. Emeka Eze had said his office did not certify the payment of the $3.54 billion power project contracted by the NIPP.
The Minister of State for Energy (Power), Hajiya Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim, while testifying before the committee had said that the National Assembly had appropriated N6.697 billion in 1999; N49.7 billion in 2000; N70.921 billion in 2001; N41.692 billion in 2002; N50.270 billion in 2003; N54.21 billion in 2004; N70.131 billion in 2005; N72.393 billion in 2006 and N61.161 billion in 2007.
She had said the amount mentioned was in addition to the N235.5 billion, $6. 464 billion, Euro 330.037 million, $3.07 million and $464 million loan from the World Bank expended on the NIPP.
She added that the total amount spent on power from 1999 to 2007 was $13.278, 937, 49,09.
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President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua also stated that his predecessor's administration wasted $10 billion in the power sector between 2000 and 2007 without commensurate results.
Yar'Adua had told the visiting World Bank team including Ezekwesili to the country: "While we are targeting 6000mw by 2009, the $10 billion invested in the sector between 2000 and 2007 has not translated into power generation, transmission and distribution. So we are exercising caution to ensure that any further funds to the sector would translate into production and delivery of energy to the ordinary Nigerian."
Also to appear today is the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
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