While some communities have been without electricity for years, electricity equipment worth N100 billion that would have provided electricity in several communiites are wasting away at a location in Lagos.
Managing Director, Rural Electricity Agency (REA), Mr Sam Gekpe, condemened the waste while conducting House of Representatives Committee members on Power and Steel around the abandoned equipment.
Gekpe said “this is the waste we are talking about in Nigeria because I do not see why every now and then, people will be making provision for purchase of transformers and so many other equipment meant for rural electrification, whereas in the store here at Egbin, we have many of such equipment unutilised.
“I do not see why we should be involved in this kind of waste in Nigeria. I think that before they can ask for replacement of any stock, the ones in the stores should be completely utilised first. The waste is not good for us as a nation,” he said.
Meanwhile, strong indications emerged weekend, that Rural Electrification Agency (REA) may inherit the equipment, which the Federal Government abandoned in Lagos for several years.
Gekpe said his Agency was still expecting a letter from the Federal Ministry of Power for the utilisation of the equipment, most of which were imported during the offshore/onshore contracts for rural electrification, but no sooner had they been imported than the Federal Ministry of Power placed a bound on removal of the materials.
Gekpe said the action was based on the allegation that the contract process was not properly managed, for which a committee was set up to investigate the allegation and after that, a report was submitted, which was eventually reviewed.
He said, “simultaneously, there was a presidential directive that all offshore/onshore contracts should be converted to Tran key, taking into cognisance the fact that materials are available here,
but because of the closure of the stores, nobody had any power to touch the materials until now.
“We were told that a letter is going to be written to Rural Electrification Agency from the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, for formal handover of this store to us. So, we are waiting for this letter,” he said.
Dec102007