- The Senate holds NDPHC accountable for $500 million in mismanagement.
- Lower house petitions BPE to stop power plant sales.
The managing director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has been called before the Senate committee on power about the suspected improper handling of $500 million worth of energy assets. The Senate committee asked the head of NDPHC to explain the circumstances surrounding a few fire incidents in various power facilities across the nation. The committee also stated in its summons, as reported by TheCable, that it will look into the fire that destroyed several of the power plants and resulted in the loss of a sizable amount of electricity production.
The summons lists several IPPs, including Gbarain, which experienced a fire incident; Ihovbor, which experienced a turbine failure; Olorunsogo, Alaoji, Calabar, and Sapele.
The committee said: “Over 4,000 megawatts (MW) worth of generation assets entrusted to NDPHC have been substantially damaged, and about 500MW worth of generation which can easily be translated to over $500 million, has been run down by the company.”
The house committee on finance requested information and documents from the ministers of finance and power as well as the director general of BPE, managing director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), and managing director of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) so that they could decide on the best course of action.
The NDPHC’s five power plants are being sold, and the lower legislative house has petitioned the BPE to stop it. The House of Representatives electricity committee chairman, Magaji Aliyu, sponsored the motion that led to the resolution’s passage.
Even though the assets belonged to the three tiers of government, according to Magaji, BPE posted a request for expressions of interest to purchase the power plants.