The House of Representatives at its plenary session of Tuesday, 6 March 2018 constituted an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate allegations that the Federal Government (FG) had lost over N2 Billion and $3.8 Million from non-payment of interests by some commercial banks acting in collusion with some officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The said commercial Banks were accused of collaborating with CBN officials to divert interests that would ordinarily have accrued to the FG from sale proceeds of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies.
Giving a synopsis on the subject matter via a motion on the floor of the House, Hon. Chukwuka W. Onyema (PDP:Anambra) stated that the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 unbundled the Power Holding Company of Nigeria into 18 successor companies; composed of six generation companies and twelve distribution companies that covered the 36 States of the Federation. Hon. Onyema noted that following the divestiture of Federal Government from PHCN through privatization, the company was then divided into separate companies known as the Local Electricity Distribution Companies.
Speaking further, he stated that the Local Electricity Distribution Companies had made payment to the Federal Government as part of the privatization agreement using banks such as the Standard Chartered Bank, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Access Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank and Unity Bank. However, he alleged that the said Banks for connived with officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to divert the accrued interests due to the Federal Government to the tune of 2 Billion Naira and 3.8 Million US Dollars.
Hon. Onyema then urged for an investigation into the matter after citing that section 88 (2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) empowers the House to conduct investigations for the purpose of “exposing corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it”.
The Ad-hoc Committee has been given a time frame of six (6) weeks to investigate and report its findings to the House for further legislative action.
