Oscarline Onwuemenyi
23 February 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The new Managing Director/CEO, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Alhaji Usman Gur Mohammed, has ordered a partial lift on the suspension of payments in the areas of the company’s operations.
Recall that, the new CEO, on the resumption of duty last week, ordered that there be an immediate suspension of all payments, the award of contracts and issuance of local purchase orders by the TCN.
On 10th of February, he released a statement directing the lift on the ban on the following areas: “2016 FGN appropriation, Imprest of outstations, payments of medical and staff salaries, payments of Eurobond, African Development Bank, AfDB, loans.”
The circular with ref No: TCN/TCEO/0001/vol 001/2017, that was addressed to the Managing Director of Market Operator (MO) and Managing Director Transmission Service Provider (TSP), was copied all the General Managers of the MO and TSP.
Mohammed had in a letter dated February 3 directed the TCN to temporarily put on hold all payment accounts of the company with immediate effect.
An official circular distributed to heads of the various departments of the company indicated that he reportedly took this decision the day that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power Mr. Louis Edozien confirmed him as the new head of the company.
Mohammed gave the directive that all payment obligations of the TCN to contractors for capital projects through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Remita payment platform on the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).