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Power Officials fail in Supervising Key Power Projects – Senate

By on June 4, 2012

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Phillip Aduda has identified poor supervision of power projects in the country as a reason for the perennial blackouts Nigerians are languishing under.

He made this known whilst visiting an electricity substation for a transmission to Yelwa, Yauri, Zuru axis in Kebbi State on Saturday.

The contract for this project was awarded in 2007 to Valenz Holdings Ltd, and five years later the project is still in the early stages, far-away from completion.

The Senate Committee has summoned the MD of the Kaduna Electric Distribution Company (KEDC) to appear before it today and explain why the project has not been completed.

The contract for the 2 x30/40 MVA S/S 32/32 KV injection substation to supply the people of Zuru emirate electricity was awarded by the Federal Government in 2007.

The Senate Committee chairman said, “Now, we have seen the project, immediately I will ask the committee’s secretary to write the CEO of Kaduna because I do not see the reason I will be here and he is not here.

“I have often said it that the problem we have in the power sector is lack of proper supervision, and proper supervision must be put into perspective. People must supervise the work they are given.

“The Secretary of the committee should invite the contractor and the CEOs of Kaduna and the transmission company to Abuja to appear before us on Tuesday so that we can look at the work plan of this contract and the contractors because if this contract was awarded in 2007 and up till now it has not be delivered.

“You can now see the reason some of these power projects have not been delivered, and you can now see why we had not had power in some certain areas of the country.

“I don’t understand why they should not visit the site of a power project when Nigerians are yearning for power. There is need for regular visits to the sites. The power sector is really under supervised. You can’t sit in your office and take decisions on what is going on at the site.”