19 May 2013, Abuja – The Senate has summoned the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Minister of State, Hajia Zainab Kuchi, and the Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Godknows Igali, to appear before its Committee on Power on Tuesday to explain the persistent poor electricity supply and distribution in the country
Also to appear before the Senator Philip Aduda, PDP, FCT, led Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy are the management of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, as well as Chief Executive Officers, managers of all generation, distribution and transmission companies.
Disclosing this weekend during an oversight function to the Ministry of Power, Aduda, who disagreed with the Ministry’s position on the 4,500 megawatts of electricity it claimed the power sector is generating, said that with his daily monitoring of the situation and reports he gets everyday, the production level, as at Friday, was 3,717 megawatts, just as he stressed that all hands must be on deck to give Nigerians electricity if the economy of the country must grow.
According to him, if Nigeria must meet its set target of becoming one of the largest economies of the world by the year 2020, the power sector must improve, adding that the minister and the players in the power sector must continually meet to address the challenge.
With Aduda during the visit were the Committee’s Vice Chairman, Senator Chris Ngige, ACN, Anambra Central; Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, Sokoto East; Senator Nurudeen Abatemi- Usman, PDP, Kogi Central; Senator Victor Lar, Plateau South; Senator Ayo Patrick Akinyelure, Ondo Central; Senator Ahmed Zannah, Borno Central; Senator Uche Chukwumerije, PDP, Abia North and Senator Ehigie Edobor Uzamere, ACN, Edo South.
The Senate Committee Chairman, who noted that labour forms an integral part of the sector, urged the minister to ensure that all labour related issues in the PHCN workers were settled to avoid litigations or other problems that could reverse the modest gains made so far.
*Henry Umoru
