The Nigerian Senate has taken a swipe at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, for reportedly spending a whopping N738 million to clear abandoned goods at the port.
The attack came after TCN Managing Director, Usman Gur Mohammed, disclosed the expenditure at a budget defence session with the Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South.
The committee was, however, not comfortable that TCN used N738 million, about 13 per cent of its budget, to clear goods when Nigerians were in dire need of power supply for business and other activities to grow in the country.
A member of the committee, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC, Kaduna North, asked the Managing Director of TCN whose responsibility it was, between the TCN and contractors, to clear imported goods.
Senator Abaribe who wondered why government should tax itself so much to the extent of frustrating power projects, said, “Government is part of the Independent Power Projects. Goods for the NIPP projects arrive in the country ports, government insists on heavy payment of duty. Government ends up taxing itself thereby increasing the cost of the projects and its execution. The goods are abandoned for years, some 10 years.”
“I think somebody should be asked to explain. The Senate should be told what is going on.”
The Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Bukar Mustapha, APC, Katsina North said that the request of the committee to be furnished with the number of completed projects and the cost of each project had not been complied with by TCN.
The TCN boss said that they received N5.9 billion in the out going 2017 fiscal year, while still waiting to get over N36 billion, adding, “We are hopeful that some releases will still be made.”
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