Senator Liyel Imoke

Former Minister of Power and Steel, Senator Liyel Imoke Thursday, broke his nearly 20-year silence, saying that the claim that $16bn was spent on the power sector reform project under former President Olusegun Obasanjo was not only phantom but also malicious.

Senator Imoke, who was also Governor of Cross River State between 2007-2015 spoke when he delivered a keynote speech entitled: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to Digital Economy”, at the just concluded 8th annual conference and yearly general meeting AGM, of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers GOCOP, held at Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

According to the former Minister, who supervised the reforms, the claim that $16billion was spent on the reforms was a mere propaganda by a segment of the society as a ploy to tarnish the image of that government for political reasons, insisting that there is no iota of truth in the claim.

He however disclosed that as the sitting Minister then, what he knows was spent was between $2-$3billion, which was also paid to General Electric G.E and some Independent Power Project IPP firms.

The former Minister further noted that the reform became necessary due to the high level of inefficiency in the country’s power sector then, as every aspect of the sector comprising electricity generation, transmission and distribution were concentrated on one entity; the National Electricity Power Authority NEPA with all the challenges and inefficiencies associated with most public monopolies.

“This gave rise to the need to unbundle the NEPA into 18 new entities with distinct functions covering generation, transmission and distribution. It also led to the creation of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission NERC set operational procedures, determine tariffs in order to protect the interest of the consumers”, the former governor said.

He regretted that despite several reforms carried in the power sector by successive governments, the country is yet to enjoy sustainable energy supply. He blamed this development on the lack of continuity in governments’ policies and programmes.

“That $16billion was spent on the power sector reform is phantom and this is very malicious. As the Minister that supervised the reforms, what I am aware is between $2-$3billion, which was also paid to the G.E and other IPP companies. If more than that was spent, it must have been after I left the Ministry.

“Energy deficit remains the single biggest constraint to Nigeria’s economic growth and development despite several reforms and the most potent reasons for that is the lack of continuity in government policies and programmes for the sector”, Senator Imoke also said.          

Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, who was represented by his deputy, Joel Salifu, commended the leadership and members of GOCOP for choosing the for such all-important conference.

The governor charged the media, especially online entrepreneurs to show professionalism and exhibit a high sense of ethics in their media practice, arguing that the online media, which has higher global penetration effect could be a potent tool for nation building and it could also bring a nation if not deplored properly.

“I warmly welcome you all to the state of confluence of opportunities. The importance and relevance of the online media in the current dispensation across the globe cannot be over-emphasised. It can be likened to the injection, which when administered on a patient has immediate result while the old media is like the capsule, which when applied on the patient, takes several hours before it starts working.

“It can make or mar a nation, so as Journalists, you must avoid misinformation and disinformation, which can be harmful to any society including Nigeria.

On his stewardship in the state in about one year after his electoral victory, he disclosed that several road and other transformational projects are at various stages of completion across the state, many of which would be commissioned during the one-year anniversary, which comes up in few weeks.

He assured that the state under his watch would continue to show a very high level of patriotism in managing public resources, which also accounts for why the government adopted the Open Governance Initiative, which makes for transparency in handling government’s activities.

Chairman of the occasion and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Spain, Malam Yusuf Mamman in his opening remarks, told the audience that the new media is charting a new course, creating several opportunities. He however regretted that Nigeria has not been able to harness these opportunities.

“Nigeria as a nation needs to take advantage of the opportunities in the new media ecosystem, which has so many investment opportunities, we need to key into this and take advantage of these opportunities with knowledge of financial inclusivity in the global space”, the former Ambassador said.

President of GOCOP, Maureen Chigbo in he welcome address thanked the Kogi State Government for accepting to host the conference, thus being the first state government to do so. She also expressed profound appreciation to all the invited guests, especially the keynote speaker, Senator Imoke to grace the occasion despite their very busy schedules.

She pledged that GOCOP as a group of media entrepreneurs would continue to be professional and patriotic in the practice of their profession as well as exhibiting the ethics of the job at all times.