NERC Reaps N6.502bn From Market Operators In 2014, As Reps, Wage Commission Kick Against N2.7bn Severance For NERC Chairman, Others

SAN FRANCISCO, December 01, (THEWILL) – The financial records of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that N6,501,845,492.52 (85.74%) was remitted by market operators in the 2014 fiscal year out of the N7,583,193,442.25 credit note.

The revenue was higher than the sum of N4,792,216,233.18 (77.47%) remitted by the operators out of the N6,185,880,118.13 credit note documented by the Commission in the 2013 fiscal year.

These were part of the documents presented to the members of the House Committee on Power and Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged N2.7 billion severance package for NERC chairman, commissioners and staff.

Members of the Committee during the exercise queried the Commission for failing to secure the approval for the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on the proposed payment of 100 percent gross remuneration to the affected staff of the Commission.

The lawmakers also frowned at the payment of allowances – such as diesel allowances for officials of regulatory agency saddled with the responsibilities of addressing the challenges bedevilling the power sector.

The documents presented by the Commission showed that the NERC chairman gets N65,007,183 salary in addition to N1.8 million telephone allowance, N1.2 million as diesel allowance and N240,000 as internet allowance.

Each of the commissioners also get N56,155,933 salary in addition to N1.2 million as telephone allowance, N1.2 million as diesel allowance and N240,000 as internet allowance.

In his presentation, Sam Amadi, NERC chairman, who described the report on the N2.7 billion severance allowances as “spurious, failed and malicious” threatened that the Commission would challenge the media company that published the report at a competent court of law.

Amadi explained that seven commissioners and 136 staff of the Commission were to benefit from the N2.9 billion severance sinking fund (at the same rate), out of which N2.017 billion was transferred to a commercial bank.

The NERC chairman, who argued that “It was reckless for chief executive to read the severance package” of his colleagues in the public, argued that the Commission got the approval of National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Attorney General of the Federal on as well as former President, Goodluck Jonathan.

He explained that the Commission embarked on the upward review of the gratuity of retiring members of its board from a 2006 benchmark of 300 percent of basic salary to 120 percent of gross overall earnings in 2014.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who declared the investigative public hearing open, noted that power sector was critical to the economic health of our nation, bemoaning the poor service delivery despite over N2.7 trillion injected into the sector since 1999.