… as Reps dismiss petition
Abuja: The Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) has admitted to spending N94 million on a five-day retreat in Lagos but denied that the entire amount was spent solely on food, as alleged by the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA).
APPA, a Civil Society Organisation, had, through its President, Princewill Okorie, accused NELMCO of misappropriation of funds, shady operations, among sundry allegations.
APPA also queried the continued existence of NELMCO 12 years after its privatisation.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on the Protection of Critical National Assets has dismissed corruption allegations petitioned against NELMCO by APPA.
At the resumed public hearing on the matter on Thursday, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Dabo Ismail, stated that the panel took the allegations seriously and immediately launched a comprehensive investigation to uncover the truth behind what truly transpired.
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” NELMCO’s existence is backed by the provisions of the Nigerian Electricity Act, 2023, according to our findings,
“That the agency ought to have folded up in 2017 after the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is not in order,” he said.
Ismail stated that NELMCO had provided all documents supporting their existence, which complied with the Nigerian Electricity Act 2023.
He stated that NELMCO assumed responsibility for all the assets and liabilities of the PHCNs and their successor companies.
In response to allegations that NELMCO spent N94 million on a five-day retreat in Lagos, the Managing Director of NELMCO, Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas, denied the claim as false.
He expressed his readiness to provide evidence of the expenditures incurred during the training.
Dekalu-Thomas said, “The Director-General of the Debt Management Office, the Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement, executive directors of NELMCO and two non-executive directors attended the event.
He also stated that 25 facilitators spent five days at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos, citing pictures and documentary evidence to support the claim.
She affirmed that the company’s total payment for flights, logistics, food, and accommodation was N94 million.
She explained that it was not a one-day event, but a five-day retreat, and that the Minister of Power was there for the entire retreat, as documented and provided.
According to Ismail, the N94 million “Is justifiable considering the dignitaries that attended the five-day retreat.”
In his contribution, a member of the Committee, Mr Billy Osawaru, stated that since the N94 million had been appropriated, there was no need for further deliberation on the issue by the members.
“Was the money appropriated? Mr Chairman, if the money was appropriated, what that means is that at some point they brought this to us and we approved it.
” I don’t think that at this point we should start going back. So if they have brought all this proof, we should move on,” he said.
The Chairman of the Committee stated that all documents related to the five-day retreat, including payments made for logistics, were submitted by the agency during its investigation.
Ismail also dismissed the petitioner’s claim of a purchase of office in the North by the agency, saying, “We didn’t see evidence of purchase of an office in the North.”
The Committee urged the petitioner to feel free to come forward with other subsequent findings, promising that it would do justice to every petition submitted before it in the interest of Nigerians.
