Posted by By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta on
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power probing the $16 billion energy contract scam on Monday visited the multi billion naira Olorunsogo-Ewekoro Turbine Power Project and concluded that the contractor had duped the country.
• Contractor overpaid N.4bn
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power probing the $16 billion energy contract scam on Monday visited the multi billion naira Olorunsogo-Ewekoro Turbine Power Project and concluded that the contractor had duped the country.
Accompanied by other members of the committee, Ndidi Elumelu expressed dismay and disgust at the state of the projects despite full payment to the Chinese contractors.
The chairman who spoke with journalists after inspecting both Phase I and Phase II of the projects, lamented the zero level of work at the Phase 2 despite an overpayment of the contract fee of N58.4 billion. The contractors were overpaid by N400 million.
The first phase of the project was hurriedly commissioned on Sunday, May 27, 2007, barely two days to the May 29 handover date by former President Olusegun Obasanjo under whose regime the contract was awarded.
Obasanjo inaugurated only one of the eight turbines in the project even when it was not connected to the national grid because the Chinese handling the project said they were experiencing some problems.
Elumelu and his team were shocked at the level of the work done and were also dissatisfied with the explanations offered by the consultant on site, Engineer Adebayo Hamzat and Fang Yibo, Project Manager of SEPCO III China, who said equipment were still being awaited for the project.
According to Elumelu: 'We have seen the Phase I of this project, despite some short comings, but there is nothing to show for the payment of N58.8 million (N400 million overpaid inclusive) for this project.
"You can see that there is nothing on ground to show or reflect the payment of the money that has been released for this project. When the SEPCO team was making their submission, they did not even disclose that 20 months were meant for the four turbines that should be completed from the day the contract was signed to the expiration of the 20 months. They failed to even disclose that to us .So, in essence they lied to us."
The consultant had earlier told the probe panel how he went to China to attend a meeting on the design review even though he was not shown any machines meant for the project in Nigeria.
The consultant, who was asked whether his trip to China was for sight-seeing, said: 'No, I did not go for sight-seeing, but I did not see the consignment of the machines that would arrive the country for the project."
Even when asked to avail the committee of the contract papers, Mr. Adebayo said: 'I can confirm to you the authenticity of the procurement of the consignment for this project. I want to tell you that we have also gone to China with the contractor on design assessment."
Adebayo could not also give satisfactory answers to the questions put to him by the Elumelu team, which asked whether there was commensurate performance with the work done and money disbursed so far.
Elumelu disclosed that in the panel's recommendation, 'we will ask the Federal Government to encourage those contractors who have performed well to be encouraged and those who did not perform to refund the contract fee with accrued interest paid.
'Except foundation, no visible structure was noticed on the site of the Phase II of the project which money had been paid for by over hundred percent."
Earlier, the chairman told Governor Gbenga Daniel that the team was in the state for on the spot-assessment of the project. He added that the Committee was not set up to witch-hunt anybody or group of people, adding that they were meant to safeguard the interest of Nigerians.
His words: 'We are not here to play anybody's card. We are not witch-hunting anybody, whether in the real sense or otherwise. We are all Nigerians. I am sure that if my Speaker, who is your son, has the power he would have wished that this did not happen, but it is beyond his power. So nobody has set us up to witch-hunt anybody.
'We have actually come to actually inspect this project to know if they are performing or not performing. The committee is not any anyway witch-hunting anybody. We are just mandated by Nigerians to investigate whether the money have been expended on the said projects."
He told the governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Alhaja Salmat Badru, 'If the Speaker has the power to stop us from investigating the matter, he would have done so, but this committee would state exactly what we see on ground."
Responding, Alhaja Badru lamented the epileptic power supply to the state.
According to her, the state enjoys barely 30 mega watts daily.
'This has affected economics activities negatively. We are looking for positive result after the committee's recommendation/implementation. The government has injected 550 transformers and above 1000 generators to many parts of the state."