By Etuka Sunday
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Dr Godknows Igali has declared zero tolerance for corruption, quackery and other vices that undermine the transformation of the sector.
This he said was to ensure that the gains of the privatisation in the power sector are fully harnessed.
A statement issued by the Principal Information Officer of the ministry, Grace Njoku on behalf of the Deputy Director, Press said the Igali spoke yesterday at the inauguration of the newly reconstituted Anti-Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit (ACTU) of the Ministry.
The PS said, “we must set a very clear template for doing things right, we cannot afford to do things wrongly in the power sector”. Igali charged the Gencos, Discos, Transmission Company, Gas Suppliers as well as all the regulatory agencies in the sector to operate transparently, stressing “open the books, there must be discipline and order”, he maintained.
According to him, “those who bought our power plants and promised to give us light must give us light, the ACTU is critical in this time of transition from public to private hands”, he stressed.
While assuring that the sector will maintain the highest level of transparency and technical efficiency in the discharge of its mandate, he also stated that the Electricity Management Services Limited (EMSL) would insist that only professionals licensed by a competent authority are engaged to carry out electrical installations at homes. In his remarks, Representative of the ICPC, Mr. Justin Kuatsea, said that the Commission believes that the war against corruption cannot be won if the wrong tactics are adopted in confronting a problem that has become deeply rooted in all facets of our national life. While charging the newly constituted unit to be sincere in the discharge of its duties, he stated that the mandate to eliminate corruption in Nigeria is hinged on an approach which combines the punitive, preventive and enlightenment methods. It will be recalled that the Anti-corruption Unit was first inaugurated in the Ministry in 2002 in line with the directive of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to all the Federal Government MDAs, as part of the renewed war against corruption by all the public servants.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
