The House of Representatives, on Wednesday directed an investigation into all the financial interventions in the power sector since privatisation, with a view to determining whether the funds were judiciously utilized.
The House equally mandated its joint committee on Power to carry out the investigation and report back within six weeks for further legislative action.
The resolution was fallout of a motion on Need to Investigate Financial Interventions in the Power Sector Amounting to Trillions of Naira, presented on Wednesday by Hon. Ademorin Kuye.
He observed that the Federal Government has spent over seven trillion Naira on direct interventions in the power sector, despite privatizing the industry since November 2013, including the Presidential
Power Initiative.
He also noted that if not for the interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of over N1.3 trillion, Nigerian power would have collapsed due to liquidity, poor performance, suppressed tariffs and lack of infrastructure at the transmission and distribution ends, weak regulations and oversight.
“Since the privatization, the power sector has undergone various financial interventions,
including those from International Donor Agencies:(i) the World Bank which approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of the sum of $486 million aimed at upgrading the wheeling capacity of the Nigerian electricity transmission grid, including the rehabilitation and expansion of transmission substations across
Nigeria; (ii) the African Development Bank (AFDB) provide a facility of the sum of $300 million to the TCN for the purpose of expansion and rehabilitation of existing northern corridor transmission lines
particularly in the north-west and north-central regions; and the French Development Agency provided facility of $170 million for Transmission infrastructure expansion around Abuja metropolis and neighbouring States”, he said.
Others he said were Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided a facility of $238 million for Transmission infrastructure expansion within the southwest region of Nigeria; Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided a facility of $13 million for power
improvement along Apo and Keffi in Nasarawa State, northcentral Nigeria; Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also again provided a facility of $21 million for the Rehabilitation and upgrade of Apapa road 132KV substation and rehabilitation of Akangba 330KV substation; and European Union (EU) provided facility of €25 million for electricity transmission infrastructure
along the northern corridor, among so many more.
He said it was worrisome that with such huge investment, the nation is still grappling with poor power supply.