File copy: Members of the House of Representatives during plenary
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, to explain their roles in the delay of several power projects across the country.
The Bamidele Salam-led committee also resolved to invite both men to the resumed hearing of the cases bothering on the procurement contracts involving several companies who were to embark on capital projects for the various electricity distribution companies in the accelerated transmission and distribution interface project.
Speaking at the opening of the investigative hearing on Wednesday, Salam disclosed that the committee would investigate the procedure for the disbursement of loans and access to funds by the contractors as well as the repayment pattern for the loans that the distribution companies received from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Recall that while making their presentations on the status enquiry/investigation on the projects worth $231,004,002.8 and N18,264,411,235.66, contractors including AAKS & Bros Ventures, Laga Cepower Limited, Bussdor & Company Limited, Elektron Petroleum Energy and Mining Limited, Skipper Nigeria Limited among others heaped a lot of blames on the Federal Government and financial institutions for making it difficult for them to access the funds that were released for the projects.
In their various presentations, the contractors noted that the failure to give them a waiver accounted for the reason their equipment lay at the seaport for a long time and accumulated demurrage.
A member of the Committee, Zakaria Nyampa expressed displeà sure over the plights of the contractors.
He said, “Mr Chairman, with your kind support, I want to come up with a motion to summon the Nigeria Customs and the Minister of Finance to clarify this challenge because the issue of the power sector affects everybody. It affects our economy as a nation and if these things are just being introduced, it is quite unfortunate.
“So, Mr. Chairman, I want to move that we invite them and still invite the Transmission Company of Nigeria to come and make the same presentation. The contractors will also be here and everybody will know that some people are also part of our suffering in this country. I so move Mr. Chairman.”
The motion was adopted by the unanimous votes of the committee members.
A few companies explained that despite the challenges in the process of securing foreign exchange to execute the project they were able to borrow and even mortgaged some of their personal belongings, and were commended for their sacrifice to make the country.
They include Oscar Igbokwe, the President of Bussdor Group and Mr Ayodele Osuporu of Inlaks Power Solutions Limited among others who spoke for their companies.
This came just as several Managers of various banking institutions were turned back as not meeting the hierarchy required to appear before the committee.
They were to make certain clarifications on their failure to release the money to contractors to embark on the projects as they were their bankers.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Committee made it clear that only Chief executive officers and the accounting officers of the institutions were qualified to appear before the Committee because of the critical issues involved.
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