100 Million Naira Bribe Allegation Eclipses Power Probe

The greatest cardinal point of the Yar’Adua’s seven points agenda is energy epitomised by the power sector. The electricity situation in Nigeria has been held to produce beyond the desired capacity to turn the wheels of the rusty industrial machines. The prices of finished products have been heaped at the threshold of the cost of producing using generators.

Against this backdrop, Nigerians were agog when the lower chamber of National House of Assembly, set up a probe panel headed by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu to investigate the eclipse in the Nigerian Power sector. After much revelation into the rot in the sector, the House Committee after touring the various power plant sites closed public sitting, to garnish their finding before tabling it before the House of Representative for deliberation.

Two months after, nothing has been heard of the panel report, rather the nation is gripped with bush telegraphic reports that the members of the panel were compromised in one of their on the site inspection in Port Harcourt, where each member was believed to have received N 100 million Naira.

Following this development, the House has suspended the Probe Panel report till the Ethics Committee can investigate this allegation. According to the Chairman House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eziuche Ubani it would be suicidal to deliberate on the content of the Probe Panel report, when the allegation of bribery against the members of the Probe Panel has not been cleared.

Earlier, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Dimeji Bankole had in a statement announced that the House cannot be rushed into taking any action by any governmental agency on the Probe Panel report till the House have taken the requisite procedures. The Speaker’s statement was targeted at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who is believed to be in possession of a leaked content of the Probe Panel report.

Meanwhile the government has released billions of Naira into the power sector to guarantee power supply. We cannot but ask: Whichway Nigeria? The money sunk into this white elephant project has not been accounted for, or have those entrusted with finding out what went wrong given a verdict/recommendation(s) yet the government is ploughing more money into the sector.