Reps summon 4 govs, ex-ministers, CBN, others - Over $16bn spent on power sector

Bola Badmus, Abuja - 07.02.2008

The House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel has summoned Governors Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State; Liyel Imoke of Cross River State; Danjuma Goje of Gombe State; and Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, who was a former chairman of Power and Steel committee of the Sentate, over $16 billion spent by the Obasanjo administration on the power sector.

The committee headed by Honourable Godwin Elumelu, also wants past Attorneys-General, Accountant Generals, Governors of Central Bank, Special Assistants to ministers of power, Ministers of Finance, Inspector Generals of Police, heads of the Army, Air Force and Navy, who had served from 1999 to May 29 2007 to appear before it.

Ministerial depart-ments responsible for power generation in the country including Water Resources Ministry, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), owners of independent power projects, all Permanent Secretaries, Secretaries to Government of the Federation, local govern-ment chairmen and Nigerians in the Diaspora are also to appear before the committee.

The summon is coming on the heels of the revelation by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honou-rable Dimeji Bankole, on Wednesday that $16 was actually spent by the Obasanjo admini-stration on the power sector rather than $10 billion.

Bankole’s revelation was contained in a statement which from his office which contradicted President Umaru Yar’-Adua’s statement to a World Bank team that a sum of $10billion was expended by Obasanjo on power sector without any result throughout his eight-year tenure.

Hon. Elumelu, while addressing newsmen, vowed that his committee would not shy away from its responsibility to summon any Nigerian connected with the power reform agenda from inception of democracy 1999 to May 29, 2007.