Reps query BPE, Abuja DISCO over TCN, power assets

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation of Sales of Power Assets on Thursday queried the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Abuja Distribution Company over the sales of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) among other power assets.

At the resumed investigative hearing on Thursday, the Honourable Ahmed Yerima led ad-hoc committee demanded from the Director-General of the BPE and Abuja Disco documents stating the value of the assets of the TCN and other power stations sold by the agency.

Honourable Yerima and other committee members had told the DG’s representative, Mr Amechi Aloke, a deputy director in the agency that the memorandum it submitted showed that the TCN assets were undervalued prior to its sale.

The lawmakers also demanded to know why a foreign owned company, Manitoba Hydro-Electric International Co Ltd, was awarded the management contract of TCN against its Nigerian subsidiary Manitoba Hydro-Electric Nigeria Ltd.

However, the BPE’s representative, Mr Aloke said that there was a public advertisement that called for expression of interest before the pre-qualification of the company as the preferred bidder.

He explained that Manitoba International Company Ltd of Canada became the preferred bidder after the pre- qualification and bidding of four companies that was done transparently.

Aloke stated that the whole essence of the bidding process was to get the lowest bidding contractor with the requisite expertise to take over and manage the power station.

However, the Committee not satisfied with the documents submitted to it by the agencies invited requested for the letter of no objection from the other companies that participated in the bidding of the TCN power assets before the sale.

The committee chairman who quoted section 87 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria said that the House of Representatives had powers to cause investigation into any matter, person or authority in which the National Assembly “has powers to make laws for the purposes of good governance of the federation or any part thereof.

He added that House resolution on the ongoing investigation into the sale of power assets by the BPE was to represent the interest of the over 170 million Nigerian citizens rather than that a few individual or group.