The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) has launched a probe into the $16 billion power project of
the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The contract has become a subject
of controversy in the past few years over allegations that the cost was
inflated.
It was learnt that the EFCC may
arrest key contractors involved in the power project scam which extended beyond
the Obasanjo administration into those of former Presidents Umaru Yar’Adua and
Goodluck Jonathan.
Sources from the EFCC confided in
The Nation that, “the operatives of the
EFCC have launched a massive investigation into the alleged $16 billion power
scam between 2006 and 2011 just as concerted efforts are being made to recover
the humongous funds allegedly diverted into private pockets by different firms
involved in the power project.
“The whole power project is $16
billion and anchored on generation, transmission and distribution.
“The project is being handled by
the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
“It is instructive to note that
the NDPHC belongs to the three tiers of government, namely the Federal
Government, state and local governments.
“Investigators also discovered
that most of the firms that secured contracts under the power project collected
huge sums in naira and dollars but did not perform up to 30 per cent before
abandoning the project.
“Incidentally, most of the
payments took place during the regimes of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo,
the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.
“The first amount released from
the Excess Crude Account was about $8.3 billion.”
Another source continued that, “a
team of crack detectives has been raised by the commission to get to the roots
of the power deal. Some of the key contractors will soon be quizzed.
“One of the major contractors –
Rockson Engineering Ltd- is being allegedly taken over by the Assets Management
Corporation of Nigeria.
“From documents available to the
commission, Rockson got four contracts and it received over $2 billion in the
following tranches: $180 million; $220 million; $240 million and $480 million.
“Rockson also received
questionable $11 million and another N150 million.These payments are now under
investigation.
“These huge funds were released
to Rockson for power generation alone.
“Investigation further revealed
that despite the release of the above to Rockson, the firm was only able to
execute 30 per cent of the construction.
“The firm also claimed that it
imported certain materials since 2013 and lying in Onne Port without clearing.”
It was also gathered last night
that the EFCC will look into alleged lapses by some top officials of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The source added: “Lack of due
diligence pervaded the transaction while certain officials of the CBN are under
probe over certain regulatory flaws.
“Instead of opening Letter of
Credit (LOC) in the name of the manufacturers of the equipment for the power
project, operatives discovered that the LOC was opened in the name of Rockson.
“Investigation also revealed that
instead of the LOC being put in place in Form M (tangibles and specific), the
LOC was opened in Form A (intangibles like school fees, medical bills, etc).
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