By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance at the weekend expressed anger over contracts signed by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) with some investors on power generation in the country.
The chairman of the committee, James Faleke (APC, Lagos State), who spoke at a public hearing in Abuja, said it was disheartening that Nigerians did not get value for the monies paid by the government.
Faleke particularly faulted the “Take-or-Pay’’ contract signed with Azura Power Plant, saying that Nigeria pays $33million dollars monthly, yet Nigerians do not get value in terms of power consumption.
According to him, the NBET signed such a magnitude of contract without the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval and against the advice of the minister of justice.
“The power sector has been unable to meet the demands of Nigerians. We have heard of all types of bailouts the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had made without any change in the power Nigerians receive,” he said.
Earlier, the managing director of the NBET, Mr Emeka Eweluka, said in the `Take-or-Pay agreement’, the investor takes the entire risk of making a multi-million dollar investment in the country, knowing that the investment could become stranded.
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