Oscarline Onwuemenyi
31 January 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has vented his frustration on the House of Representatives over its numerous investigations of his ministry, accusing them of distracting him from carrying out his work.
Fashola, who addressed the House members during an investigation on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) organized by the House committee on power, lamented that the frequent probes by the House of Representatives on issues affecting the ministry, was distracting him from the work of fixing the nation’s epileptic power sector.
Fashola said, “We closed here last week and we are resuming this week with this committee. Committees of the House also will be asking us of our budget performance and we just need to work in the office so that we can also perform.
“So, I think there’s a sense here that I respectfully ask you to sufficiently use this time so we can also work to serve the Nigerian people.
“We have a letter dated December 20, 2017, and that letter was issued under the name of one Nnamdi D. Onuigwe Esqr, Committee Clerk. And, it’s from the House of Representatives, saying the House has constituted an ad hoc committee on the need to investigate the Fiscal Responsibility and Procurement Acts by the TCN. It was pursuant to House resolution 114/ADHOT/TCN2 of December 20.”
The minister added that, “Now, we were waiting to be invited by the ad hoc committee when we got this letter asking us to come today, signed by Ibrahim Sidi, Committee Clerk pursuant to House resolution 189 of December 5, 2017. Although, it’s headed as “Need To facilitate Swift action on management of TCN Electric Power Reforms, it goes in the body to ask us to come and explain to this investigative committee the interim management of TCN on the delay in the implementation of projects such as the Nigerian Electricity Gas Improvement project that will improve power sector in Nigeria.
“So, I seek clarification in order to assist the committee in its work and if it’s possible, to harmonize all of what we want to do together, bearing in mind that this House substantially is handling some possibly over-lapping issues.”
