$20bn power investment saga: CSOs petition EFCC

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over the alleged $20 billion fraud in the nation’s power sector.

The petitioners particularly asked the EFCC to investigate and prosecute the alleged fraud and sabotage of the nation’s power sector, by General Electric (GE).

The coalition made the call during a peaceful protest and presentation of a petition to the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, calling for the prosecution of the prime culprit in the 2008 House of Representatives report on the power sector.

National Coordinator, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Mr. Solomon Adodo, who addressed newsmen shortly after presenting the petition to EFCC, stressed that a detailed investigation of the facts as contained in the petition, would help the anti-graft agency determine the actual economic loss and havoc done to Nigeria by General Electric and its allies, especially Rockson.

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According to him, the activities of GE and Rockson were bleeding the country to death financially, as billions of naira had been lost with nothing to justify what he described as “humongous pillaging of our resources” by both companies.

He said: “The House of Representatives in 2008 constituted an Ad-hoc committee, which is annexed to this petition, that did not only thoroughly berate and deprecate the fraudulent, outlandish and sordid acts of GE and its allies, notable among whom was Rockson.

“The report specifically recommended that GE, Rockson and their cronies be subjected to criminal investigation and their prosecution.

“It is saddening to note that General Electric International and her Nigerian business partner Rockson Engineering Nigeria Limited, have bribed their way out of appropriate sanctions that ordinarily be visited on them for their conspicuous roles in the fraud and deliberate sabotage committed against Nigeria as revealed by the House Report.

“We are further disenchanted at the fact that Genetal Electric ad Rockson Engineering still continue to bleed Nigeria of direly needed funds through highly overinflated contracts skewed in a manner that they are doomed to fail.

“It is therefore highly imperative that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission expedite action to halt this vociferous decimation of our economy while hounding the individuals behind these crimes to jail to serve as deterrent to other individuals or entities,” he said.