- Senate queries Mambilla project funding
- Seek details of monies spent
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been asked by the Senate Committee on Power to account for how funds for the Mambilla Hydropower Project were spent. The Committee stated that the Federal Government paid the sum of ₦812 million to the Taraba state government for the survey and demarcation of land at the Mambilla project site.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswam, stated that the Minister of Power must account for how the disbursed funds were spent. ”It’s left for you to ask the Taraba government to furnish you with the details of how the ₦812 million was spent”, Suswam said.
“We can’t appropriate money for land survey and demarcation for Mambilla power project, and the money is given to Taraba government to engage land surveyors. This makes it difficult for the Senate to oversee the usage of the money”, Committee member Senator Yusuf said.
In his response, Mamman stated that the funds were disbursed to the Taraba state government following the agreement between the state and federal governments. ”We entered into an agreement with the state to support it with money to engage firms, based on the local procurement process, to survey and demarcate the land it donated for the project’, Mamman said.