Update: President Goodluck Jonathan seeks N1.8billion to fund project in Bayelsa
The contract was renegotiated before it was re-awarded for $76million to Pivot Engineering Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Honeywell Group, owned by Oba Otudeko, a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and one of the notable political allies of the President.
Subsequent reviews raised the contract sum to about N6.3 billion initially, and later N11 billion in 2005.
Despite the allocation of about N1.115 billion in the 2005 budget to facilitate the completion of the project, the contractor failed to meet the December 2005 completion deadline.
Pivot finally completed the job and successfully connected Bayelsa State to the national grid in 2006.
Like Bayelsa, like Gurara, others
As in the Bayelsa case, the 2014 budget also indicates that officials of the federal government have also fraudulently budgeted about N700 million to purportedly link Gurara, in Kaduna State, to the national grid this year.
LaNUBlog NEWS ARENA investigations, however, show that Gurara’s connection to the national grid has remained one of the constant features in successive federal budget proposals since 2011:
About N918 million was provided for the project in 2011; N556.74 million in 2012, and N1.5 billion in 2013.
Officials at the power ministry say this is a loud indictment of the federal budget making process under the Jonathan administration where project monitoring and evaluation doesn’t appear to be a factor for policy development.
It is just another drain pipe into some pockets, officials at the power ministry said in Abuja.
Other controversial provisions, which had featured in successive budgets since 2010, include those for the 10MW Katsina Wind Farm, which took N3.15billion in 2010; N510million in 2011; N800million in 2012; N250million in 2013, and N1billion in 2014.
Similarly, the construction of the 215 Kaduna low pour fuel oil, LPFO/gas-fired power plant, which was allocated about N3.7billion in the 2014 budget, gulped N7.65billion in 2011; N3.7billion in 2012, and N2.744billion in 2013.
Feasibility studies for coal-fired power plants in Enugu and Gombe States, which got allocation of about N1.7billion in the 2014 budget, took about N2.04billion in 2011; N2.223billion in 2012, and N1.7billion in 2013.
Apart from the N461million set aside for some renewable energy projects, these projects, which were initiated to help provide alternative sources of power towards meeting government-set electricity generation target of 10,000MW, have incidentally turned out to be pipe-drains for corrupt public officials.
Subsequent reviews raised the contract sum to about N6.3 billion initially, and later N11 billion in 2005.
Despite the allocation of about N1.115 billion in the 2005 budget to facilitate the completion of the project, the contractor failed to meet the December 2005 completion deadline.
Pivot finally completed the job and successfully connected Bayelsa State to the national grid in 2006.
Like Bayelsa, like Gurara, others
As in the Bayelsa case, the 2014 budget also indicates that officials of the federal government have also fraudulently budgeted about N700 million to purportedly link Gurara, in Kaduna State, to the national grid this year.
LaNUBlog NEWS ARENA investigations, however, show that Gurara’s connection to the national grid has remained one of the constant features in successive federal budget proposals since 2011:
About N918 million was provided for the project in 2011; N556.74 million in 2012, and N1.5 billion in 2013.
Officials at the power ministry say this is a loud indictment of the federal budget making process under the Jonathan administration where project monitoring and evaluation doesn’t appear to be a factor for policy development.
It is just another drain pipe into some pockets, officials at the power ministry said in Abuja.
Other controversial provisions, which had featured in successive budgets since 2010, include those for the 10MW Katsina Wind Farm, which took N3.15billion in 2010; N510million in 2011; N800million in 2012; N250million in 2013, and N1billion in 2014.
Similarly, the construction of the 215 Kaduna low pour fuel oil, LPFO/gas-fired power plant, which was allocated about N3.7billion in the 2014 budget, gulped N7.65billion in 2011; N3.7billion in 2012, and N2.744billion in 2013.
Feasibility studies for coal-fired power plants in Enugu and Gombe States, which got allocation of about N1.7billion in the 2014 budget, took about N2.04billion in 2011; N2.223billion in 2012, and N1.7billion in 2013.
Apart from the N461million set aside for some renewable energy projects, these projects, which were initiated to help provide alternative sources of power towards meeting government-set electricity generation target of 10,000MW, have incidentally turned out to be pipe-drains for corrupt public officials.
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