Senate Raises Alarm as Minister of Power Corners 20 Power Projects to His Local Govt
The Minister of Power, Engr. Mamman Saleh, was Wednesday accused of using his position to corner 20 mini-grid power projects meant for rural communities to his local government area.
The Minister is said to have proposed to locate the projects to his Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State as contained in the 2021 budget.
Worried about this development, the Senate had ordered the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Mr. Ahmad Salijo, during the 2021 budget defence to go back to the Minsiter and draw his attention to the anomalies.
The observation was raised by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf who is a member of the Senate Committee on Power and also from Taraba Central senatorial district.
Senator Yusuf had told his colleagues, “It is not just the N52 million project but if you look at the proposal from number 85, N30 million, N20 million and N40 million, respectively are to be spent on rural electricity and they are all concentrated in one local government area, which is the minister’s local government area. Twenty projects are in Lau Local Government Area. I am not challenging him but I am sure”.
Senator Bala Ibn Na’ Allah, a member of the Committee said by his action, the Minister had violated the 1999 Constitution .
He said, “Those who elected us to this office expected us to ensure that the constitution, which they have made for themselves and given to us, will be executed to the letter. The president wants to be the president of every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Therefore, he would want loyalty and co-operation from every citizen of the country.
“If we sit down here and agree that a budget that pleases a minister can come, he (minister) is not doing himself good because he has sworn to do justice to all manner of the people and not to allow his personal interest to affect his official conduct and decision. He has by this clearly shown that he has allowed his personal interest to affect his official conduct and decision, and that is a very serious matter.
“Governance is a very serious issue. I think you (MD) must take this observation serious and convey it to the minister. Tell him that the committee is not in agreement with him.
“We will not sit down and sign this kind of document. We will be failing in our duties; we will be failing in the oath of office we have taken to hold and protect the constitution, if we allow this to go unchallenged.
“Please let him know, there is no sentiment on this matter. Let us all try as much as we can to operate within the elements of our constitution”.
Senator Gabriel Suswan who is the Chairman of the Committee directed the management to go back and make corrections to the budget.
The Minister is said to have proposed to locate the projects to his Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State as contained in the 2021 budget.
Worried about this development, the Senate had ordered the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Mr. Ahmad Salijo, during the 2021 budget defence to go back to the Minsiter and draw his attention to the anomalies.
The observation was raised by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf who is a member of the Senate Committee on Power and also from Taraba Central senatorial district.
Senator Yusuf had told his colleagues, “It is not just the N52 million project but if you look at the proposal from number 85, N30 million, N20 million and N40 million, respectively are to be spent on rural electricity and they are all concentrated in one local government area, which is the minister’s local government area. Twenty projects are in Lau Local Government Area. I am not challenging him but I am sure”.
Senator Bala Ibn Na’ Allah, a member of the Committee said by his action, the Minister had violated the 1999 Constitution .
He said, “Those who elected us to this office expected us to ensure that the constitution, which they have made for themselves and given to us, will be executed to the letter. The president wants to be the president of every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Therefore, he would want loyalty and co-operation from every citizen of the country.
“If we sit down here and agree that a budget that pleases a minister can come, he (minister) is not doing himself good because he has sworn to do justice to all manner of the people and not to allow his personal interest to affect his official conduct and decision. He has by this clearly shown that he has allowed his personal interest to affect his official conduct and decision, and that is a very serious matter.
“Governance is a very serious issue. I think you (MD) must take this observation serious and convey it to the minister. Tell him that the committee is not in agreement with him.
“We will not sit down and sign this kind of document. We will be failing in our duties; we will be failing in the oath of office we have taken to hold and protect the constitution, if we allow this to go unchallenged.
“Please let him know, there is no sentiment on this matter. Let us all try as much as we can to operate within the elements of our constitution”.
Senator Gabriel Suswan who is the Chairman of the Committee directed the management to go back and make corrections to the budget.
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