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From Fred Itua, Abuja
Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Managing Director, Jennifer Adighije, yesterday, revealed that the government-owned company is being owed about N306 billion by power distribution companies and others.
She said the debts are from energy generated and distributed to the national grid. The debt, she said, is affecting gas supply in the country and power stability.
She spoke when members of the Senate Committee on Power, led by the Chairman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, visited the company on an oversight function.
Adighije urged senators to assist the company in retrieving and recovering NDPHC’s assets, debts and other facilities that belong to the company.
“We are calling on the Senate to help us recover some of these debts and assets that belong to the company. We will need the assistance of lawmakers to make the company more efficient,” she said.
Abaribe in his remarks, wondered why the same issues come up every year, with no significant improvements or advancements. He said the company should go beyond its current capacity and do more.
He said: “You generate more than what the operators demand. Then you waste the rest they don’t distribute. Where exactly is the problem coming from? Is the problem with the transmission networks? Let us unravel the real issues.”
In another development, senators during an oversight visit to the office of FGN Power Holding in Abuja, said Nigerians are unaware of the existence or job specification of the company.
Abaribe, who spoke during the visit, said: “FGN Power Company has not come under any serious scrutiny from Nigerians. People don’t even know you exist and they don’t know what you do. “You’ve been using funds borrowed by the Federal Government to carry out projects. We need to know these projects and what you have done so far.”
Managing Director of the company, Kenny Anuwe, said the body was set up by former president Muhammadu Buhari for specific reasons
“The company was set up to implement the presidential initiative on power. It was set up by the Buhari administration. It was set up to modernise and upgrade power infrastructure to stimulate growth and economic development.
“Our challenges are many. The war between Russia and Ukraine is affecting the purchase of equipment. The prices have gone up. COVID-19 also affected our operations. We’ve also discovered that local players don’t have the technical capabilities and they do business in naira. This is not sustainable as well.
“Delayed approvals are also affecting our operations as a company. There is a conversation on how DiSCOS can pay back the huge debts they’re owing. We’re having a discussion with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. Our initial plan was to borrow from the German government,” he said.
Abaribe, in his further comments, said after the privatisation, the DiSCOS refused to invest. He queried how DiSCOS who are unable to pay back existing debts will be able to repay huge loans used to handle power infrastructure.
