Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has restated the commitment of the
legislature to tackling challenges bedevilling the power sector.
This, he said, at an
investigative hearing by the House Committee on Power on the interim management
of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for the apparent delay in the
execution of the National Electricity and Gas Improvement Project (NEGIP).
While querying why there would be
a delay in the execution of such a project which has the potential to improve
electricity supply in the country, the Speaker stressed the importance of power
supply as a major factor in economic development.
“We cannot emphasize enough the
pride of place that electricity occupies in the life of any modern nation.
Indeed, electricity is the lifeblood of our national economy. This is why any
issue that affects the power sector always receives priority attention from the
House of Representatives in particular and the National Assembly in general.”
“We will continue to revisit the
challenges that confront the power sector as that is the only way to fix the
sector and get our country firmly on her way to unleashing her enormous
industrial and developmental potentials.”
He also cited constitutional
provisions concerning the doctrine of separation of powers and stated that such
public hearings and investigations are in line with the legislature’s oversight
mandate.
“As most of us already know, the
National Assembly regularly oversights the executive arm of government with
regard to its work. This should not be seen as meddling but as a constitutional
imperative. Indeed, Section 88 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) vests the National Assembly with powers to inquire
into and investigate organs of the executive. This power is given to ensure
accountability, probity, rule of law – all of which constitute the ingredients
of good governance.”
“One of the features of our
democracy is the doctrine of separation of powers. The essence of this doctrine
is that the three arms of government should exercise control over their
respective spheres of influence without undue interference from other arms.”
“However, there is a corollary to
this doctrine which is that there is the need for the arms of government to
apply some checks on each other in order to create a balance in the system.
Today’s hearing is one of the ways that the National Assembly exercises its
checks on the executive arm of government.”
The Speaker further stated that
the aim of the public hearings was to give room for fair hearing and citizen’s
participation in legislative processes, and called on all stakeholders present
to cooperate with the committee in order for its work to be successful.
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