By Ayo Alonge
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the Senate would look into the disbursement of the N213 billion power sector intervention fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This disclosure was made known in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sanni Onogu, yesterday in Abuja.
According to the statement, Saraki spoke during a special stakeholders’ meeting organised to fashion a way out of the increasingly poor electricity generation and supply in the country.
Speaking, Saraki said the upper chamber would verify claims and counter claims of non-remittance of revenues between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET), Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and Generation Companies (Gencos).
The Senate President urged the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy to conduct a public hearing on the funds as well as on the declining electricity generation which currently stood at 3,000 megawatts and advised that the public hearing should take a look at reasons behind the inability of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to effectively supervise and audit the electricity generation and distribution companies.
He lamented what he termed“the poor electricity supply in Nigeria and the consequences of the negative development in the efforts to move Nigeria out of the present economic recession.”