Omoh Gabriel, Leon Usigbe and Victor Ahiuma-Young
31 March 2008
Lagos — The on-going power probe at the National Assembly has ruffled some feathers, and sent cold shivers down the spine of some political heavy weight. But tongues are wagging on the newfound courage of the Assembly.
In the first instance, it is not doing anything new but its traditional role which it has not played according to the rule in the last eight years.
Ordinarily in its oversight function, members of the House of Representatives should have demanded from the Executive arm of government each year, the financial profile of the country before approving any budget. It is their constitutional function to cause the Executive to account for the money spent on behalf of Nigerians. In the last eight years as the probe has now shown clearly, the National Assembly did not live up to expectation. The question on the lips of Nigerians is: What will come out of the on-going probe and how much was actually spent?
While the CBN said $4.8billion was spent, the Accountant-General of the Federation gave the figure as $3.7billion and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) said it was $3.7billion that was spent.National Union of Electricity Employees has put the amount at $4.07billion.
In its memo to the probe panel, it said: "May we bring to the attention of Honourable members of House Committee on Power & Steel and the general public that the real figure that was spent by the sector was $4.07 billion not $10 billion as the President claimed. We are using this opportunity to call for a probe to be instituted in the sector to find out the difference between the $10 billion claimed by the President and the $4.07 billion actually acknowledged by PHCN.
"This is more appropriate especially at this period the country is really waging war against corruption, there is need for the relevant bodies to look for the difference and bring the perpetrators of any fraud to book no matter their current positions.
It is very clear to us from the report from the PHCN, that about $4.07 billion was spent, it's not a case of wild goose chase. The people to be asked (politicians) are still very much around if' the President is serious to find out and look for the difference of $6 billion.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who is currently the Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Liyel Imoke who is now the PDP Governor of Cross River State was at a stage the Technical Board Chairman of NEPA and Minister of Power, Olusegun Agagu who is now the PDP Governor of Ondo State was formerly Minister of Mines and Power.
"These are the people who should be called to come and explain how much was spent and why the system failed to work.
This is a clarion call for the President unless he wants to toe the line of his predecessor in the attempt to tackle the problem in the Power Sector. Declaring a state of emergency on the Power Sector won't solve the problem of power supply in the country.
"PHCN as a miniature Nigeria, has had and is still having its share of the menace called corruption. It is saddening to note that Contract Award System has been a source of worry. Most jobs contracted out are such that could be adequately, effectively and conveniently undertaken by in house engineers in PHCN.
These contracts which at times are unnecessary, are awarded to cronies and political agents who know next_to_nothing in engineering. These are aimed at settling some identified 'good boys' at the expense of the company and Nigerians at large.
"We plead that this Committee delve into this area to exhume certain irregularities in relation to our claims. Besides, the Power Purchase Agreements entered into and those that facilitated them need to be exposed." the union secretary general, Mr. Joe Ajaero wrote.
THE GENESIS
When the House of Representatives on January 31, 2008 mandated its Committee on Power and Steel to carry out a comprehensive investigation within four weeks into the huge sums of money that have been expended in the sector without commensurate result, it probably did not envisage the pandora box its action was going to throw up.
That singular act of the Lower house has opened a can of worms. The stench from the can is suffocating the country and almost all the arms of government involved are singing discordant tunes for the nation to dance to. The resolutions to probe the power spending followed a motion to that effect sponsored by the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Mohammed Ali Ndume and 103 other members of the House.
The movers of the motion did not leave any doubt of their motive as they stressed the importance of power supply as key to the industrial, technological and social transformation of Nigeria, more so in the new drive for the country to be one of the 20 largest economies by 2020. They were worried that the level of power supply in the country was worsening, pointing out that instead of 4,500MW installed capacity, the nation was generating between 3000-3200MW only.
On February 6, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole threw the first salvo when he told members that the past administration under former President Olusegun Obasanjo actually wasted about $16billion on the power sector as against the $10billion that was announced by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
The Speaker's disclosure was contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Communication, Mr. Kayode Odunaro stating that the over $6billion addition to the figure represented extra-budgetary spending on the sector under review.
This added a twist as to the proprietary and integrity of government figures and statements. In constituting the probe panel, he spoke of the need for the House to adopt an "input-output and outcome approach," that would ensure transparency, accountability and good governance saying, "only if we plan like this and monitor output periodically, would we be able to prevent a situation where $16 billion was spent on
power reforms with negative results."
Having briefed the committee, they swung into action and the chairman of the Power and Steel Committee, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, set the tone form the form the investigation would take, calling for memorandum from government officials who served between 1999 and 2007, including former ministers of power, three of whom are now state governors - Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, Danjuma Goje of Gombe State, and Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State.
He also said former chairmen of the Senate and House committees on Power which include another serving state governor, Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, would be expected to present memoranda. Others are former ministers of finance, all Auditors-General of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation and Attorney-General of the Federation, all governors of Central Bank of Nigeria within the period, special assistants to the Minister of Power, the Inspector-General of Police, the Armed Forces, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, state governors and embassies of foreign countries, were included in the dragnet to uncover how the money was spent and how much is actually involved.
Similarly, the committee invited memoranda from local government chairmen, ministerial departments, civil society, labour, corporate organisations, Nigerians in Diaspora among others. Hon. Elumelu stated that the committee would also appreciate inputs from the intellectual class and research institutions assuring that it would not tolerate frivolous, diversionary, malicious or unsubstantiated statements or allegations designed to tarnish the image of anyone or settle subterranean political scores.
"Indeed, every claim or statement submitted to the committee shall be subjected to the most rigorous test of authenticity and reliability. "We count on this assignment as a sacred national task and we shall leave no stone unturned to resolve this mystery faithfully, expeditiously and judiciously.
"We shall be fair to all but thorough and uncompromising as to truth. Where necessary, we shall invite the Corporate Affairs Commission to give statue report on contractors to ascertain if they were duly registered and to know the directors of such companies," Hon. Elumelu declared. He made it clear that even when the House was determined to unravel the mystery behind the non-performance of the Power sector, it has not accused anyone of committing any crime so far but "we have to get to the bottom of this rot and prepare the way to cleanse the Augean stable.
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