Tunde Rahman
12 May 2008
Lagos — Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is opening up this morning on the amount spent on the power sector by his administration from 1999 to 2007.
In the text of his perspectives on the power sector, which THISDAY sourced last night Obasanjo will put the figure in the region of $6.5 billion.
This, according to him, will include outstanding letters of credit.
The House of Representa-tives Committee probing the contracts in the sector had summoned Obasanjo and his former deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to appear before it this morning.
The former president will tell the committee there is enough on the ground to show for the expenses on the power sector.
Various sums of money ranging from $4 billion to $16 billion have been bandied around as the amount spent by the Obasanjo regime on the power sector.
According to the text of the presentation dated May 12, 2008, the former president argues that: "If you limit yourself to capital expenditure and running costs you will get a set of figures that can truly be said to be the real expenditure on power.
"I have been told that the figure in this regard from 1999 to 2007 is in the region of $6.5 billion including outstanding letters of credit."
He will, however, add that whatever "figure you choose to take, to say that there is little or nothing to show for it, is the greatest understatement of the year which will tend to portray inadequate knowledge or ignorance."
According to the former president, when his administration came in 1999, it met seven power stations - Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Egbin, Afam, Sapele and Delta - in different stages of disrepair and obsolescence and all of them generating about 1500MW.
By 2007, his regime had added six new stations with the seventh almost completed at Alaoji-545MW, he argues.
The six are as follows:
Okpai in Delta - 480MW by Agip; Afam II - 276MW; Omotosho - 330MW; Palalanto - 330MW; Geregu - 414MW and Ikot Abasi-Ibom Power - 145MW - to which Federal Government is a partner.
He said there were six National Independent Power Projects (NIPP) in the pipeline "and the expansion of Omotosho, Papalanto, Geregu and Alaoji to about 1000MW each by combined cycle and 2500MW from Mambilla."
"In other words, in eight years of our Administration, we have provided six new power generating units of almost 2000MW," he argues.
According to the text of the presentation, "There was no transmission work embarked upon between 1982 and 2000. But by May 2007, we have taken transmission to Bayelsa State for the first time, double the transmission from Shiroro to Abuja to ensure stability of supply."
The breakdown of what his administration met on the ground, according to him, is as follows:
-Non-serious investment in generation and transmission between 1981 and 1999, a period of eighteen years, except the completion of Jebba and Shiroro hydro power plants
-Although 6000 MW capacity was claimed in 1999, only 1500MW was being generated. Ijora and Oji River thermal based on coal have completely closed down for lack of coal production.
-The hydro power plants of Kanji, Jebba and Shiroro suffered seriously from silting and/or inadequate flow of water into the dam and poor maintenance.
-The Egbin thermal unit suffered from disruption of gas supply through vandalism and poor management and maintenance by NEPA staff.
-Because the transmission system was not a closed loop, any disruption by vandalism or any other cause meant power would totally be cut off from the part of the country affected.
-NEPA was a den of monumental corruption and malpractice which were deep and widespread and revenue generation was grossly below expectation. There was massive illegal connection and avoidance of payment of bills.
Obasanjo will also admit to the committee that the situation was not thoroughly understood and identified by his administration until after the first two years of his first term.
"With such discovery, we sprang into action. First, NEPA leadership had to be changed and we brought in an accomplished Engineer from the private sector in person of Engr. Joe Makoju to assist with giving the organisation the leadership it lacked and to shape up the entire structure of the organisation and change their attitude and orientation.
"The aim was to sanitise and reposition NEPA to perform its roles, functions and duties to the nation. Then, we started to tackle the issue of repairs, maintenance and replacement," he says.
According to him, "what is required is serious, adequate and committed follow-up and sustenance from where we stopped.
"If the total expenditure has not translated to power availability at our homes and for our industries, it is because the little additional expenditure that is necessary for completion or for sustenance has not been made."
The former president is of the view that in all cases, in government, he pursued the best interest of Nigeria and went to great lengths to ensure that the interest of Nigeria, Nigerians and the government was protected.
But he will state that if the committee has anything to the contrary, it should bring it out to explain if explanation was necessary.
He is however of the view that nobody found to have enriched himself or herself with the power projects fund should be spared.
He also believes that no honest officials or political office holders who served in his administration should feel threatened by any threat of probe if their hands were clean.
Obasanjo in the text titled "Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's Insight And Perspectives Into Nigeria's Power Situation," will draw the attention of the committee to the fact that he received its letter dated May 3th on May 9th.
He will argue that the letter was not authored or signed by the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ndudi Godwin Elumelu and that the signature was that of one Sahmed.
He will say he believes that courtesy and decency would suggest that a letter from any chamber of the National Assembly to him as former president "on a matter of this nature, will be signed by the head of the chamber concerned on behalf of the Committee or the Clerk of the National Assembly or, at the minimum, the Chairman of the committee itself and not by a third party."
On the issue of payment of mobilization fee, he will say to the best of his knowledge, the government policy was to pay contractors only 25% mobilisation fee.
According to him, it is not the duty of the President to oversee such payment.
He will also say allegations that companies are not registered or that non-existing companies were paid are not matters for the president but for appropriate officers in the relevant ministries.
"If this ever happened, there would have been a big syndicate racket that should be broken and all concerned prosecuted because monies are paid by cheques or letters of credit," he adds.
He will also advise the lawmakers not to hinder the collective responsibility of the members of Executive Council by the way it was carrying out its functions, "otherwise it may be difficult, if not impossible, for the Executive to carry out its domestic and, certainly, its foreign duties, policies and responsibilities."
The former president argues that he is confident of the good he has done for this country and has no regrets whatsoever.
According to him, no approval or programme or policy was granted or embarked upon for personal enrichment or aggrandisement.
"If, however, any official or public officer has made a genuine mistake, he or she should be sanctioned and corrected at the same time," he will tell the committee.
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Now the real facts and figures are coming out. The actual amount including letters of credit IS $6.5b and the power increase during the periopd was 2000MW. One wonders what really was behind President Yar'Adua's $10b expenditure on power with no power increase to show for the amount spent by Obasanjo's administration. Could President Yar'Adua not have obtained this facts from records or could he not have discussed it with Obasanjo before making such a damaging and unbefitting statement? If anything has been learned from this power probe crisis it is the fact that THE LACK OF CONTINUITY IN GOVERNANCE WHICH HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED BY THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION IS THE BANE OF PROGRESS IN NIGERIA. To continue the propaganda as seemingly started by President Yar'Adua, the power spending was inflated to $16b by the corrupt politicians using the media all over the country to VERY VERY UNJUSTLY DISCREDIT THE CLEANEST, MOST PATRIOTIC AND MOST CARING FOR THE COUNTRY AND THE BEST LEADER THE COUNTRY EVER EVER HAD. OBASANJO, AS HAS BEEN FOUND OUT, IS PROBABLY, THE ONLY AFRICAN NATIONALIST IN THE COUNTRY AND HE IS, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, COMPLETELY DETRIBALIZED UNLIKE ABOUT 90% OF THE PRESENT POLITICIANS IN THE COUNTRY. TRUTH IS PERENNIAL!