Mr. Ola Olukoyede, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has blamed unethical contractor practices for Nigeria’s national grid’s regular outages.
This was disclosed by Olukoyede on Tuesday when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes paid an oversight visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
Olukoyede voiced concern about the ways in which corruption and financial crimes have impeded the country’s progress. He pointed out that equipment failures, outages, and frequent system collapses were all significantly influenced by questionable practices in the power industry, such as the purchase of inferior materials.
The chairman of the EFCC claims that the nation’s budget performance has been continuously subpar, with implementation frequently dipping below 20% over the previous 15 to 20 years.
He emphasized that the national grid’s frequent breakdowns have been caused by inadequate equipment that electrical businesses have acquired.
The EFCC Boss’s remarks
The chairman of the EFCC bemoaned Nigeria’s inadequate capital project implementation and execution, emphasizing that the nation cannot accomplish economic growth or infrastructure development under such circumstances.
According to EFCC investigations, power sector contractors who were given electrical equipment supply projects frequently chose to use inferior materials.
We are having trouble with electricity as I speak to you. You will cry if you witness some of the investigations we are conducting in the power industry,” he continued.
Olukoyede went on to say that the country’s capital project execution over the last 20 years has been worrisomely poor, with performance levels just above 20%.
“How do you want infrastructure to develop if we don’t do that? How would you like your country to develop?
This year, we have been given the task of working with the National Assembly to see if we can complete up to 50% of our capital project before the end of the year. As a country, we will be OK if we do 50%. One of Nigeria’s main issues, he noted, is the failure to implement its capital budget.
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Working Together with Lawmakers
Olukoyede underlined the necessity of teamwork and collaborations with all parties involved in order to successfully combat corruption in Nigeria.
In order to carry out the commission’s responsibility to combat financial crimes, he urged the EFCC and lawmakers to work together more closely.
In the long run, Nigerians will remember the mandate that is in front of you and us if it is handled well and efficiently. This is one of the main issues threatening Nigeria’s progress.
It is your and the EFCC’s duty to successfully combat financial crimes and corruption. Therefore, it makes sense for us to collaborate,” Olukoyede stated.
The head of the EFCC stated that combating corruption in order to promote national development is a shared objective between the agency and politicians.
Things you should be aware of
According to earlier reports, the country is currently experiencing a significant blackout after the national grid fell twice in less than a week this month.
Concerns regarding the stability of the electrical grid and its effects on homes and businesses nationwide have been raised by this string of outages.
Concerns regarding the grid’s dependability and the necessity of immediate reforms in the electricity industry have been heightened by this most recent collapse, which is the eleventh grid breakdown documented in 2024, with three of these occurrences taking place in October.
