Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is seeking comprehensive audit of power sector intervention funds, faulting the Federal Government’s claim that it has substantially settled debts owed to electricity generation companies.
In a statement on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku referenced concerns raised by the Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Companies, APGC, Dr. Joy Ogaji.
Ogaji said the widely publicised ₦501 billion bond had not been fully disbursed, contrary to government announcements.
Atiku said the APGC challenged the FG to publish the names of beneficiary Gencos, amounts paid, payment dates, and outstanding balances, arguing that the information should be public to ensure transparency and accountability.
According to Atiku, successive announcements of interventions and bond issuances to settle power sector debts have created uncertainty, particularly as generation companies continue to maintain that outstanding liabilities remain unresolved.
He queried why new borrowing plans were being proposed if previous interventions had achieved their intended objectives.
“The question is no longer whether the government is borrowing. The question is why Nigerians are repeatedly being asked to applaud fresh borrowing to solve a problem that government insists it solved only yesterday,” the statement said.
He maintained that every public fund borrowed in the name of Nigerians should be fully accounted for, stressing that transparency is a constitutional obligation rather than an act of goodwill.
He urged the Federal Government to release details of all payments made to generation companies and disclose the status of outstanding obligations.
He implored the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation and other oversight institutions to conduct a comprehensive public audit of all power sector intervention funds raised under the current administration.
To him, such an audit should establish the total amount borrowed, the sums disbursed, the beneficiaries and the reasons debts continue to accumulate despite repeated government assurances of settlement.
The success of government interventions, Atiku said, should be measured by improvements in electricity supply and service delivery rather than by the volume of bond issuances, adding that Nigerians deserve greater transparency over the management of public resources.
