Senate to probe N213bn CBN power intervention fund

by Usman Alabi

There is no doubting the fact that power generation in Nigeria has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the year, as virtually every part of the country are groaning under the pains of not having stable electricity supply.

This explains the reason why the Senate President, Bukola Saraki encouraged the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy to conduct a public hearing on the declining electricity generation in the country, which at present stands at 3000 megawatts capacity.

The public hearing would be expected to verify the claims of revenues between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, Electricity Distribution Companies and Generation Companies. The committee has also been mandated to investigate how the N213bn CBN intervention fund was disbursed to the power sector.

The Senate President while speaking on Saturday at a special stakeholders’ meeting on the worsening electricity generation in the country, said the public hearing should look at the role of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, which serves as board member in the Discos and Gencos, thereby making it difficult for the BPE to effectively supervise and audit the electricity generation and distribution companies.

A statement by the Media Office of the Senate President on Saturday quoted Saraki as lamenting poor electricity supply in Nigeria and the consequences of the negative development in the efforts to move Nigeria out of the present economic recession.

He told stakeholders in the power sector, led by Mr Louise Edozien, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing that the essence of the meeting was to proffer solutions to an imminent collapse of the electricity system in the country. Edozien also decried the power situation in the country which he said had gone down to 3000mw from a 7000mw generating capacity.

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