$16bn power probe: Reps on suicide mission � Uduaghan

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, said on Friday that members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel were on a �suicide mission� for daring to launch a probe into the $16 billion spent on the power sector by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The panel, headed by Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, was in Asaba, the state capital, on Friday on the final lap of their tour of power projects in the South-South zone. Uduaghan noted that the committee members would definitely step on some big toes and advised them to take necessary precautions.

He, however, assured them of their safety while in Delta State, adding that the people of the state would pray to God on their behalf. Elumelu, who is an indigene of the state, told the governor that the panel had the mandate of the House of Representatives to find out how the money was spent and why Nigerians could not get value for it. For the third time on Friday, the panel found that Marubeni Engineering, a Japanese firm, was overpaid by another N200 million on the Ihovbo Power Plant located in Edo State.

The firm had been overpaid N224m and N180m respectively on two other power plants located in Calabar, Cross River State and Sapele, Delta State, though its officials claimed that the money covered an alleged one per cent commission the Central Bank of Nigeria charged on Letters of Credit opened for Marubeni. The contract for the thermal plant was signed in 2006 for N14.8 billion, while Marubeni was expected to complete it in July 2008.

The company had reportedly been paid N15bn, indicating an excess of N200m. But, with less than four months to the completion date, Marubeni had not begun the installation of equipment at the site. The Managing Director of Marubeni, Mr. Sato Toru, was on site when the committee visited and admitted that he had no problem of funding.

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