The House Committee on Finance has invited the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET, Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN and the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, to appear before it.
The lawmakers made this known at a resumed investigative hearing in Abuja
The invitation follows the ongoing probe of the Azura power deal which gulps $33 million monthly.
Recall that the committee had invited the Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, to explain why funds spent on electricity generation was asymmetrical to the output of power generated by Power Generation Companies (GenCos), particularly the Azura power company.
In his defence, Abdulaziz, claimed that paucity of funds was responsible for the erratic power generation.
Displeased by his excuse, the Committee, chaired by James Faleke, resolved to invite heads of other agencies and ministries.
Faleke, who did fix a date or time for the investigation, said: “We have adjoined this sitting. We will invite NBET, TCN, NERC, Niger Delta Power Commission, ministry of power, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), ministry of finance. So, we will invite all these agencies and their principals and heads of bureau to appear. We will communicate to them at an appropriate time that is convenient for all of us and a later date.”
In 2013, the Nigerian Government through NERC, TCN, NBET, among others, had signed an agreements with Azura located in Edo State, to generate 450 megawatts of electricity at the cost of $33 million monthly.
The project, which is expected to last for 20 years, will gulp $7.920 billion upon completion in 2032 has so far generated less than five megawatts of electricity.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
