Senate Vows to Probe Disbursement of N213bn Power Intervention Fund

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said the Senate would look into disbursement of the N213 billion power sector intervention fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Saraki made this known in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sanni Onogu yesterday in Abuja, according to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report.

According to the statement, Saraki spoke during a special stakeholders’ meeting to proffer solutions to the worsening electricity generation in the country. He said the upper chamber would verify claims and counter claims of non-remittance of revenues between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET), Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and Generation Companies (Gencos).

Saraki urged the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy to conduct a public hearing on these funds as well as on the declining electricity generation which currently stood at 3,000 megawatts.

He said the public hearing should take a look at reasons behind the inability of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to effectively supervise and audit the electricity generation and distribution companies.

The president of the senate lamented “the 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 called on stakeholders in the sector to work towards proffering solutions to the “imminent collapse of the electricity system in the country.”