President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, played down the level of corruption in the country and said that what whistle blowers allege as graft in some sectors of the economy were exaggerated, especially the controversy that trailed the bidding process in the power sector.
According to the president, while the current administration had been working assiduously to curtail graft in the country, the ongoing reform in both the power and fertiliser sector had been transparent under his watchful eyes.
Jonathan made this assertion during the signing ceremony of the presidential Power Reform Transactions at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, just as Minister of Power Prof Chinedu Nebo hinted that federal government needed investment worth $3.4billion between now and 2016 to be able to evacuate the power currently being generated.
He noted, however, that government was working out funding arrangements for the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s long term expansion plan from a mix which would include the Transmission Development Fund, International Development Banks and Multilateral agencies.
Arguing that corruption was not inherent in the country, President Jonathan said: “I’m particularly pleased to hear directly from the private sector that the process was transparent and those stories of corruption were not heard. Let me continue to assure Nigerians that yes there are issues of corruption in this country but somehow it has been over amplified.
“People should watch how we have been conducting government business.We have been bringing down the issues of corruption gradually. If you look at the fertiliser sector, you will agree with me that if government actors were interested, we would have continued the same story of buying all kinds of things, awarding all kinds of contracts in the name of fertiliser.
“But we are not doing that. We have sanitised that sector. Look at the power sector, when we started, there were stories in the papers but at the end, even when I was in the US, companies from there that participated said publicly that the process was transparent and issues of corruption was not there.
“At least, today, we have also heard directly that the process was transparent and that there were no issues of manipulations or corruptions. I plead with Nigerians that the country belongs to all of us and we will all protect what belongs to us, what belongs to our children and what belongs to the generation yet unborn. We are committed to doing our best for this country God willing we will succeed”.
On progress made so far in the power sector under his transformation agenda, the president said, “To underscore our government’s commitment to transparency, renew our emphasis on inclusiveness in core transactions and sustain the current tempo of transformation in the power sector, it became imperative that the meeting be publicly held here, instead of doing it in the confines of the offices of the transacting parties.
“I can assure you that in spite of daunting challenges, we will not waver in the commitment that has seen the fundamentals of our economy advancing, compared to several economies around the world. We continue to command prime attention as a preferred long-term investment destination in Africa and our electricity sector, in particular, maintains its promise of reasonable returns on investment and ease of entry, for all interested investors.
“I must acknowledge that since I kick-started the power reform agenda in August 2010 with the launching of the Power Sector Reform Roadmap, and bearing in mind the scale and complexity of our power sector, considerable progress has been made,” he stated
“Nigerians must have electricity for domestic and industrial use and there is no turning back and there is no relenting. This Government cares about you and will not rest until you can sleep well at night without the irritating noise of generators.
Also speaking, Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo who hinted that government needed investment worth $3.4billion between now and 2016 to evacuate the power currently being generated said installed available generation capacity has risen to 6,000MW, while generation capability has increased to 5,228MW, with peak generation at slightly above 4,500MW.
“We expect to add additional generation capacity of about 2,200MW from the NIPP projects (1,896MW), IPPs (292MW) and FGN legacy assets (514MW) before the end of 2013”, he added, juste as he noted that the Federal Government, is also investing heavily to boost generation through the large, medium and small hydros with total capacity of over 4,234MW. These include Zungeru-700MW; Mambilla -3,050MW; Guarara II -360MW; Itsi-40MW; small Hydro Power -84MW.
“This massive increase in generation underpins the need for a robust transmission grid. Currently our grid remains a weak link with a wheeling capacity of about 4,800MW. With government’s objective to achieve 10,000MW in 2014 and 20,000MW in 2016, the urgent need to expand our transmission capability to evacuate the projected additions becomes imminent. The process for the sale of Afam Power Plant and Kaduna Disco is ongoing”.
Tony Elumelu of Transnational Corporation who spoke on behalf of the five generating companies, who also received their certificates, commended the federal government for transparently handling the power process.
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