Okonjo-Iweala to Reps: I'm not responsible for power failure

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, yesterday refuted allegations levelled against her by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale, that she was responsible for the poor funding of the power sector.

Okonjo-Iweala said the allegations were completely baseless.

In a statement by her Special Adviser on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu, the Minister claimed that contrary to the erroneous impression of the committee, the ministry had received N72.7 billion as at May 23 to cover various items in line with the implementation of the Power Roadmap.

According to her, a breakdown of the figures shows that N59,089,522,721 billion was paid in the first quarter while N13,733,822,832 had been paid so far in the second quarter.

She said: 'As stated in a news release issued by the Ministry on May 23, the Federal Ministry of Finance has paid a total of N72.7 billion to the Federal Ministry of Power so far this year to cover various items in line with the implementation of the Power Roadmap.

'The amount includes the sum of N45 billion paid to Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, workers as part of the power privatisation programme.

'It also includes the sum of N5 billion paid for the Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO.'

Okonjo-Iweala explained that other beneficiaries include the Power Ministry headquarters, PHCN, National Rural Electrification Agency, National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, National Power Training Institute, National Electricity Liability Management Limited/ GTE, NELMCO, and Bulk Trader.

The minister said the statement credited to Ikhariale, blaming her for allegedly failing to release funds meant for the power sector, was not only completely wrong but tended to personalise an important national issue.

She noted that it also betrayed a limited understanding of the current status of power sector financing which the present administration had made a key priority in the implementation of the Power Roadmap.