Senate To Probe Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman Over Power Funds

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, will be probed by the Senate committee on power over the disbursement of N2 trillion for the power sector. The summon comes a week after the National Assembly stated that it will likely cancel the privatisation agreement.

The Senate intends to enquire why the power supply in the country has not improved despite the sum of N2 trillion pumped into the power sector. Ahmed and the minister of power, Saleh Mamman, will face the committee which is led by Senator Gabriel Suswam.

The Senate hearing will also include Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Generation Companies (GenCos) and Distribution Companies (DisCos). The Senate had stated that the Discos and Gencos were not up to the task as they keep relying on FG for funds despite being private entities.

Senate To Probe FG Intervention

According to a report by The Cable, the probe had been initiated following a resolution passed by the Senate. The resolution mandated the committee on power to probe Federal Government interventions in the power sector for years.

It was disclosed that Nigeria is still struggling to generate about 4,000 megawatts of electricity despite several financial interventions, ranging from N213 billion, 201 billion, N701 billion and N600 billion; all into the power sector.

Speaking about the probe, Susan said, “That money has run into almost N2 trillion, one would expect ordinarily that there should be improvement from where we were,”

He added that “It would be recalled that the senate had a motion on the floor about a week ago when the committee on power was mandated to investigate comprehensively the power sector especially in areas as it relates to intervention.

“That is why we are inviting all stakeholders who are concerned to come before the senate and explain to Nigerians what has happened to the huge sums of money,” Susan said.