2024 Budget Defense on Power: Ibarapakan Asks TCN to Complete Power Projects in Ibarapa During Senate Hearing
As a follow-up effort to his investigative motion of October 26, 2023, asking the House of Representatives to probe the non-completion of the New Abeokuta-Igboora/Lanlate/Igangan 132/33 KV, Member Representing Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency, Hon. (Dr.) Anthony Adebayo Adepoju, has again asked the leadership of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to provide an explanation to Nigerians as to why the power line project has not been completed more than ten years after it was awarded.
The hearing on the Ministry of Power’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year was held at the Senate building of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, where the leadership of TCN, stakeholders in the power sector and House Committee Members of Power both at the Red and Green Chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly were in attendance.
In his led debate, Hon. Adepoju, who is a member of the committee, expressed the level of untold hardship that the lack of power supply in the Ibarapa region of Oyo State has posed to the residents of the seven communities.
According to the lawmaker, a lot of people have left Ibarapa in search of greener pastures due to a lack of electricity.
He noted that the socioeconomic development of the geopolitical zone has been stifled, expressing worry that quality of life has also drastically declined as a result of the non-availability of power supply.
“I hail from Ibarapa Central and I represent both Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Local Government Areas of Oyo State. We have a transmission line that was awarded in 2009; it was among about nine power projects that were awarded at the time in the country, and up until now, it has not been completed.
“What baffles me the most about this project is not that it has not just been completed, but this project was actually listed in the budget as recent as 2023, and about N80 million was paid out for this project, and I can tell you nothing has been done on that project that is visible to the human eye, so I will like you to shed more light on this project, because in this part of the country, we do not have light, and as a result of that, a lot of people have left my community to find greener pasture.
“So I want to plead with you, after explaining this to you, to please help us complete this project. I raised this motion on the floor of the House already, so it is supposed to be probed, but I also want to implore you to help my people and bring modernization to our community,” Ibarapakan said.
In responding to Hon. Adepoju’s deep concern about power projects in Ibarapa, Engr. (Dr.) Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, who is the Managing Director (MD) of TCN, said all hands are on deck to finish the project, noting that the delay is caused by funding and variation issues. The MD said that the current Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, made a call to him on Monday, December 11, 2023, about the power project in Ibarapa Land, emphasising that the Minister of Power is from the state where the project is located and that he assured the Honourable Minister that the project will soon be completed so as to have it published.
Responding to Engr. Sule, Hon. (Dr.) Adepoju graciously moved a motion, urging the Bureau of Public Procurement to review and investigate all power projects that were awarded in the last five years in the country. The Ibarapa-born lawmaker cum technocrat expressed that the report of the investigation will not only help TCN but also help Nigeria move forward in the aspect of power. The motion was supported and seconded by Hon. Ezechi Namdi, Member Representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani Federal Constituency.
Commending Hon. Adepoju’s efforts, Chairman House Committee on Power, Hon. Victor Nwokolo, said it is not fair to hear that a project has not been completed for over 10 years, saying that even in the last two years, prices have changed, and urged other honourable members to look into the issue of funding as raised by the TCN.
It will also be recalled that during the budget defense of the ministry of power a couple of days earlier, precisely on Monday, December 11, 2023, Ibarapakan asked the Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, to explain why the same project had not been completed even with the heavy expenditure already incurred on the project.
The Honourable Minister, in his response, informed the lawmaker that his ministry was already looking into it.
“I am glad the Managing Director also confirmed that he got a call from the minister on the same day. We are grateful, and our hope is awakened, as we believe there will be light at the end of the tunnel in Ibarapa Land,” Hon. Adepoju said.
