The House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a 7-day ultimatum to the managements of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and SEPLAT Gas Company to produce valid documents detailing various agreements, modes of payment and general transactions signed by the parties.
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee Investigating Nigeria’s Power Sector Reforms and Expenditure from 2007 to 2024, Hon. Ibrahim Almustapha Aliyu gave the directive during a hearing held at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Honorable. Al-Mustapha, who described CBN, TCN and Seplat Gas Company as very key stakeholders in the energy sector reforms, noted that the documents of the aforementioned agencies on their methods of operations, who raised loans and the detailed agreements between the parties involved will help the Ad-hoc Committee to make an informed recommendation to the House for the betterment of the country and the citizenry.
While emphasizing the need for a holistic assessment of the entire energy reform carried out by successive administrations, he alleged that the privatization process has not worked for the country or Nigerians.
The Committee is of the view that all bodies appearing before it must support and ensure that all requested financial documents and additional details are provided.
In his presentation, the Deputy Director of the Development Finance Department of the CBN, Mr. Abdulrahman Hasan, explained that the apex bank that regulates all banks operating in the country had fulfilled its mandate of ensuring effective energy reform in Nigeria by providing loans to different companies to enable them to supply energy.
He said that the projects were executed in phases such as Save 1, Save 2 among others.
Also speaking was Mr. Huseni Idris of the same CBN Development Finance Department who revealed that all intervention projects had a period of 10 years, adding that all the companies that raised loans from the apex bank had done wonderfully well, even as he informed lawmakers that the energy sector in Nigeria has a huge challenge.
According to the CBN, the company Yola Disco, which also benefited from the loan, was facing serious security problems, which is why a three-year period was extended to obtain it.
While answering questions from the committee on the terms and agreements, as well as how much the transmission and distribution companies received, Mr Idris promised to provide the panel with all information and documents at the next adjourned date.
Representatives of the apex bank, however, told lawmakers that it has pre- and post-monitoring mechanisms where executed loans and projects are tracked.
In his presentation, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Ajiboye Oluwagbenga, asked the panel for a one-week extension to allow him to provide detailed information to lawmakers.
It was gathered that the company is currently dealing with three main issues which include power generation, power distribution and power transmission.
While reacting, the panel said it had received all their complaints and requests and promised to look into them on the next adjourned date.
For his part, the representative of the SEPLAT Gas company, James Makinde, who requested legislative assistance, noted that his company is facing several financial challenges across the country in order to supply gas.
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