The House of Representatives Committee on Power, yesterday, said it has discovered that after 40 years of inception of the Mambilla power projects, the site is yet to be completely surveyed despite billions of naira sunk into it.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Aliyu Magaji D’au (APC, Jigawa), who disclosed this during a budget session with officials of the Ministry of Power, said the lawmakers were dismayed that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the Taraba State Government, was yet to survey the site of the project.

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He said: “We members were also dismayed that compensations have been paid out over the years. To whom? The lawmakers wanted to know.”
The Minister of Power, Engr. Saleh Mamman, who said he was new, could not provide adequate answers.

However, giving insight further into the matter, the permanent secretary, Mr. Louis Edozien, disclosed that the ministry and the Taraba State Government were working to complete work on the survey.
The permanent secretary revealed that: “We are partnering with the Taraba State Government to do the final detail survey for the purpose of enumeration and compensation. That is separate activities that have been provided for in the 2020 budget.”

The permanent secretary reiterated that Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Xi Jinping agreed, in 2018, that the Chinese Export Import Bank would fund 85 per cent of the estimated cost and the Nigerian Government will finance 15 per cent.


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He said the negotiation on Chinese government’s loan was on-going and was being handled by the Ministry of Finance.
He also said that the president established the Nigerian Infrastructure Development Fund, under the auspices of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, and had “raised and set aside $200 million and they have made a commitment to raise the balance”.

“But their concern is that before they start releasing funds, they must receive assurance that China Exim Bank will loan the principal sum on terms favourable to the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry, in the course of their presentation, informed the committee that out of the appropriated sum of N12.5 billion, only N8.6 billion has been released between January and October 2019 releases which stood at 70%.

As for the 2020 budget, the figure presented stood at N9.4 billion.
The committee, after interacting with the officials, consequently okayed the N127 billion 2020 budget as proposed. “The 2020 budget is hereby approved,” Magaji D’au remarked.