Reps threaten to remove new project from TCN budget

The House of Representatives Committee on Power, on Tuesday, barred the Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN), from embarking on new projects in 2021.
This is even as the Committee disclosed that it would only appropriate money in the 2021 budget for projects listed in 2020 budget but were not executed.
The Committee took the position in Abuja, when the TCN appeared before it at the 2021 budget defence session.
Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the TCN, in briefing on the 2020 budget performance, had told the committee that the agency was unable to undertake over 30 of its projects listed in the budget.
Abdulaziz said that the Company had 119 ongoing projects captured in the 2020 budget, and 14 new projects proposed in the 2021 budget.
He disclosed that out of N6billion appropriated for the Country is 2020, N3billion was released, but the Company was able to utilize only N1.9billion.
The MD/CEO said his Company was unable to utilize N1.1billion to execute certain projects because of several factors that militated against the projects.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the TCN,
Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz

Amongst the obstacles he said were rights of wY, arising from issues with communities, letigations, insecurities, vandalization of TCN infrastructure, inability to process funds as well as the COVID 19, amongst others, which called for poor implementation of TCN’s budget in 2020.
He said the Company proposed N165.8 billion in the 2021 budget, to enable it reach out to ongoing projects and start new projects, but was given a pastry N4billion.
Irked by the disclosure, Aliyu Magaji, Chairman of the House Committee on Power, said, “I don’t know what they will do with N4billion out N165.8billion proposed.
” Until TCN’s projects are achieved, the Siemens project will not be possible. Without transmission, there can not be distribution.
“I will say it as it is. We have seen value addition in your tenure. If it were otherwise, I would have told you. We will write a letter of commendation to you”, stressing that power has improved tremendously.
The Chairman hardly rested his points when a member of the committee, Shehu Garba, from Kaduna, expressed worries that the Company was planning new projects in 2021, when those of 2020 were begging for actions.

Rep. Aliyu Magaji

In a motion, a lawmaker, Sada Solo Jibia from Katsina, asked that the TCN must not embark on any new projects in the 2021 budget, but should execute all the low hanging fruits projects.
In a swift explanation, the MD/CEO told the Committee to be considerate in this decision, stressing that they were civil servants, and that these projects were special requests from the powers that be.
However, the motion enjoyed a popular support and was aporoved by the Committee.
In approving the motion, the Chairman, Magaji, told the MDCEO, “we are here to appropriate funds. You are lucky that whosoever sent the requests to you, did not send it to us.
*We cannot do N165.8bilkion projects with N4billion. It doesn’t make sense. We cannot allow you to continue with new projects when you cannot complete old projects.
“We will sit with them and allocate money to low hanging fruits projects and spread them across the geopolitical zones”, the Power Committee Chairman said.

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