Financial Energy Review
…….by Musa Ibrahim………..
The Minister of Power, Engr. Saleh Mamman has said that $200 million meant for the Mambilla power project is held up in the presidency in the office of the Chief of Staff to the president and this money has further stalled the completion of the power project.
The Minister has also pointed out that a 15 percent about N850 million counter fund for the Mambilla power project is yet to be paid by Nigeria which would have enable the Chinese NIXEM bank to pay it’s 85 percent funding for the project.
The Minister who was before the Senate Committee on power to defend the 2021 budget explained that no provision is made for the project in the budget as he is yet to convince the president on the need to continue the project.
According to him the Mambilla Power Project, which was expected to generate 3,050 megawatts of electricity was yet to take off years after President Muhammadu Buhari visited the project site in Taraba State.
As a result of the minister’s revelation on Monday during the 2021 budget defence, the Senate Committee on Power foreclosed that there would not be stable power supply in the country for years to come.
The Committee was also jolted by the submission of the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engineer Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz that out of N165 billion required for capital project in 2020, N40 billlion envelope was given, out of which only N3 billion was cash backed.
These lamentations dominated the budget defence session the Minister and the TCN MD had with the Senate Committee on Power.
Taking up the Minister on the Mambilla Power Project, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Gabriel Suswam, Shaibu Lauren, Danjuma Goje and James Manager insisted that it is not acceptable for the ministry of power to leave out Mambilla power project in the 2021 budget.
Earlier, Lauren had intimated the Committee that the project site lacked an access road despite promises made on the project by the Federal government on a yearly basis.
“Nothing in the proposed 2021 budget that concerns Mambilla, showing that there is no commitment from the government.
“The truth about the project going by glaring realities on ground over the last ten years, is that Mambilla will not see the light of day”, he said.
