- The CBN and others are to appear before the Committee on November 8 this year over $321m and N18.2 billion audit queries examined by the Committee.
- A petition was received on the lack of judicious use of the funds, which the CBN paid to the DisCos at the prompting of the TCN.
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee chaired by Hon Bamidele Salam (Osun-PDP) on Thursday summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) over $321m (million) and N18.2 billion loans for the accelerated transmission distribution interface, lines and substation projects in the country.
The CBN and others are to appear before the Committee on November 8 this year over audit queries from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation examined by the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Bamidele Salam, handed down the summons when the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engr Sule Abdulaziz, appeared before the Committee.
The Chairman of the Committee stated that a petition was received on the lack of judicious use of the funds, which were paid to the DisCos by the CBN at the prompting of the TCN. Abdulaziz had told the Committee that the funds were paid directly to the DisCos by the CBN to embark on the various projects across the country and that the repayment of the loans was from the revenue of the TCN.
The submission did not go down well with the Committee members, who expressed concern over the repayment arrangement. Hon Salam demanded that the TCN should provide details of the disbursement of the loans, the procurement process, how many DISCOs were involved, the stage of the projects, and the structure of the repayment of the loans to the beneficiaries of the loan.