Corruption: Buhari Asks NASS To Speedily Pass Special Crimes Court Bill

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the National Assembly
to fast-track the passage of the Special Crimes Court Bill.

He made the call on Tuesday at the National summit on
“Diminishing Corruption in the Public Service”.

The President also urged the judiciary to embrace and support
the creation of special crimes court in the country.

“The fight against corruption is of course not only for
government and anti-corruption agencies alone. All arms and tiers
of government must develop and implement the anti-corruption
measures,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

President Buhari added, “I invite the legislative and judicial
arms of government to embrace and support the creation of special
crimes court that Nigerians have been agitating for to handle
corruption cases.”

He noted that the passage of the bill was a “specific priority”
of the present administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan
(EPRG) 2017-2020.

The President also spoke about his recent directive to all
agencies of government to enroll in the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

He, therefore, directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and
other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to beam its searchlight on
public institutions that were yet to comply.

President Buhari explained that the new directive on IPPIS was
intended to halt the padding of personnel budgets and the diversion
or misappropriation of capital budgets.

He said, “I am aware that the Commission recently conducted
system studies and review of many MDAs to evaluate systems and
processes relating to transparency and accountability in personnel
and capital spending through which you successfully blocked over N9
billion from being diverted from 2019 personnel budget.

“That was a proactive prevention measure. I have directed that
all agencies of government must get on the IPPIS in order to
eliminate the padding of personnel budgets.”

The summit was organised by ICPC in collaboration with the
Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The President used the occasion, which marked the launch of the
Constituency Projects Transparency Group (CPTG) Report Phase One,
to reiterate his appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to join in
the fight against corruption.

He insisted that the war against corruption cannot be won
without prevention, enforcement, public education, and
enlightenment.

“I encourage the ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to
intensify their efforts in public education, enlightenment, and
engagement with citizens.

“I also urge our development partners, civil society
organisations, and the media to continue to support our efforts to
strengthen ethical values and integrity in Nigeria,” President
Buhari said.

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Senate Probes Gencos, Discos over unsteady power
supply
…Power Committee to submit probe report in four weeks

The Senate has mandated its Committee on Power to investigate
the activities of power generating and distribution companies with
a view to unraveling the cause of unsteady power supply in
Nigeria.

The investigating committee has four weeks to submit its report
to the Senate for consideration.

The decision by the upper chamber to probe power generation,
transmission and distribution in the country was reached sequel to
a motion considered during plenary on Tuesday.

Sponsor of the motion, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North)
said Nigeria, with a population of 200 million and an annual growth
rate of 2.6 percent per annum, is the seventh most populous nation
on earth.

According to Utazi, the power generating or installed capacity
of Nigeria in relation to its population and Gross Domestic Product
cannot place the country to compete favourably in terms of
development with other nations.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to find
solutions to the power deficits faced by the country.

Citing Indonesia and Philippines as examples, the lawmaker noted
that both countries with a population of 267 million and 107
million, respectively, have installed power capacity of 60,000
megawatts and generating capacity of 42,465 megawatts as well as
installed capacity of 20,055 megawatts and generating capacity of
16,271 megawatts.

The lawmaker while expressing optimism that Nigeria can set a
realisable target of generating capacity of 100,000 megawatts in
the next ten years, said same can be achieved through a mix of
energy sources such as natural gas, hydro, coal, wind and renewable
energy.

He added that the various zones in the country are naturally
positioned to take advantage of the various energy mix and
renewables, particularly solar energy.

“The northern part of the country with vast expanse of land can
tap into large solar farms while the southern parts of the country
with significant reserves of natural gas and cola can generate
power from same.

“Both the north and South have large water bodies that can still
be dammed for hydro,” Utazi said.

The lawmaker further posited that Nigeria can improve on its
transmission infrastructure by up-scaling its networks from the
current 330kv and 132kv to 765kv super grid to enable big power
plants to send power through such grid over long distances.

He added that beyond generation and transmission, Distribution
Companies (DisCos) lack the financial and technical capacities
required, thereby resulting in their inability to pay for power
which Generation Companies (GenCos) deliver to the grid.

Underscoring the motive behind the privatization of the power
sector in 2013, Utazi stressed that the objective in privatizing
power distribution assets was not to achieve highest financial
bids, but rather to get capable companies that can achieve the
lowest Average Technical Commercial and Collection losses within
five years.

In her contribution, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central)
said the failure of the power sector was largely due to the refusal
of the leadership of past governments to embrace new ideas.

According to her, “Government should embrace new ideas that
would take Nigeria to the next level.”

Another lawmaker, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North) said
uninterrupted power supply remains a fundamental requirement needed
in a modern economy.

The lawmaker, who bemoaned previous policies particularly under
the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, said the
power problems of the country remain the same despite their
introduction.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to engage all
stakeholders in the power sector with a view to coming up with
workable solutions to Nigeria’s power crisis.

“We need to bring experts together to look at the power sector
as a whole in a bid to realising these targets. Our companies are
now being moved to Ghana, this is because of power.

“The Committee on Power should get everybody together.
Government cannot do it alone. Let’s bring everybody together so we
can find a lasting solution to this problem,” Barau stressed.

Senator representing Cross River South, Gershom Bassey, said
what Nigeria needs to resolve its power problem is to develop the
country’s transmission infrastructure.

According to him, Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure
currently lacks the capacity to withstand an increase to power
generation.

The lawmaker however advised the Federal Government to build on
existing policy frameworks inherited from past administrations.

Accordingly, the Senate urged the Federal Government to upgrade
the transmission infrastructure of Nigeria’s power grid for a more
efficient transmission of power.

While advocating for 100,000 megawatts installed capacity to
match the size of Nigeria’s economy and population, the upper
chamber urged the Federal Government to break-up the country’s
power distribution companies into smaller, more manageable
distribution companies for optimal performance.

Signed:

Ezrel Tabiowo
Special Assistant (Press)
to the President of the Senate