Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The Senate committee on electricity has summoned the managing director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) in connection with the alleged inappropriate handling of energy assets valued at $500 million.
The senate committee requested an explanation from the NDPHC director on a few fire accidents that took place at various power facilities across the country.
According to Track News , the committee also indicated in its summons that it would investigate the origins of the blaze that destroyed a number of the power facilities and caused a sizable loss in electricity output.
A number of IPPs are mentioned in the summons, including Gbarain, which had a fire incident, Ihovbor, which had a turbine failure, Olorunsogo, Alaoji, Calabar, and Sapele.
The committee stated that “generation assets valued at over 4,000 megawatts (MW) entrusted to NDPHC had been seriously damaged.” About 500MW of generation, which is easily worth more than $500 million, has been depleted by the corporation.
The committee also asked the NDPHC administration for a comprehensive report on the Friday incidents.
The corporation is also expected to appear before the power committee on a specific day.
The NDPHC is owned jointly by the federal government, states, and LGAs to manage the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).
In July, the House of Representatives was debating the Bureau of Public Enterprises’ proposed sale of five NIPPs controlled by the NDPHC (BPE).
In a letter from the ministers of finance and power, as well as the director-general of BPE, the managing director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), and the managing director of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, the house committee on finance requested information and documents “for the committees’ determination on the way forward” (NBET).
The lower legislative house has petitioned the BPE to halt the sale of the five power plants owned by the NDPHC.
The proposal that resulted in the resolution’s passage was sponsored by Magaji Aliyu, the chairman of the House of Representatives’ electricity committee.
Magaji claimed that even though the assets belonged to the three tiers of government, BPE still put out a call for expressions of interest to buy the power plants.
He asserts that the federal government is determined to sell the assets in order to balance the budget deficit, even without the consent of the other levels of government and other owners.
In a letter to the heads of the agencies addressed to them and signed by James Faleke, the chairman of the committee, the committee ordered that all transaction processes for the sale of the power plants be immediately paused.
The House of Representatives has noted with grave concern the Bureau for Public Enterprise’s (BPE) proposal to sell the five national integrated power plants (NIPP), namely the Benin Generation Company Limited, the Calabar Generation Company Limited, the Geregu Generation Company Limited, the Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, and the Omotoso Generation Company Limited.
The committee condemned the proposed sale as illegal and at odds with all widely accepted conceptions of national development as well as the fair distribution of power among the three parts of government.
The request states, “You are cordially requested to cease any further processes with respect to this transaction and to submit the following information for the committee’s determination of the course of action.” “Taking into account the important role your organization is playing in the nation’s sustainable energy industry.”
