Senate to Probe N213bn CBN Power Fund

• Senate to Probe N213bn CBN Power Fund

President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has urged the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy to conduct a public hearing on the declining electricity generation in the country, which currently stands at 3000 megawatts capacity.

The public hearing is expected to verify the claims and counterclaims of non-remittance of revenues between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, Electricity Distribution Companies and Generation Companies.

The committee was also mandated to uncover how the Central Bank of Nigeria disbursed the N213bn intervention fund to the power sector.

Saraki, 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 the stakeholders in the power sector, led by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Louis Edozien, that the essence of the meeting was to proffer solutions to an imminent collapse of the electricity system in the country.

Edozien, in his remarks, decried that power generation had gone down to 3000mw from a 7000mw generating capacity, with a 12000mw connected load.