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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has attributed the frequent collapse of the national grid to the usage of substandard electric materials supplied by those he described as corrupt contractors in the power sector.
Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the EFCC, disclosed this at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday when members of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes visited him.
Olukoyede stressed the importance of collaboration between the commission and lawmakers to combat financial crimes effectively.
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He noted that both bodies share the same mandate to address corruption and successful enforcement would be remembered positively by Nigerians in the long term.
According to Olukoyede, one of the key areas of concern is the power sector, where corrupt practices have been undermining the country’s infrastructure.
The EFCC boss revealed that some contractors awarded contracts to supply electricity equipment were involved in cutting corners, using substandard materials that have contributed to frequent power outages and system failures.
This, he said, is one of the many examples of how corruption in critical sectors is holding back the country’s development.
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Olukoyede also discussed the EFCC’s new strategic focus on asset tracing and recovery, which he credited for the agency’s successes over the past year.
He pointed out that preventing corruption is a far more cost-effective strategy than merely enforcing the law.
The commission has increasingly focused on prevention, establishing a directorate for risk assessment and control to identify and mitigate potential corruption before it occurs.
He further explained that for every N10 recovered, potentially 30 to 40 times that amount may have been stolen, underscoring the magnitude of the financial hemorrhage.
Olukoyede also called for better welfare for EFCC staff, acknowledging that underfunding and inadequate remuneration have hindered the agency’s operations.
He said, “As I am talking to you now, we are grappling with electricity. If you see some of the investigations we are carrying out within the power sector, you will shed tears.”
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“People who were awarded contracts to supply electricity equipment, instead of using what they call 9.0 guage, they will go and buy 5.0. Every time you see the thing tripping off, the thing gets burnt, and all of that, it falters and it collapses. It’s part of our problems.”
Speaking further, he also said the commission discovered that in the last 20 years, capital project implementation and execution in the country were not up to 20 percent.
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Olukoyede said, “We discovered that in the last 15 to 20 years, we have not done up to 20% of our capital project implementation and execution. And if we don’t do that, how do you want to have infrastructural development?
“How do you want to grow as a nation? So, our mandate this year is to work with that directorate and with the National Assembly to see if we can meet up to 50% of the execution of our capital project for the year
“If we do 50%, we will be fine as a nation. The lack of implementation of this capital project, capital budget, is one of our major problems in Nigeria. And if we can tackle that effectively, we will make progress as a nation.
“So, we are doing everything to see how we can prevent that with your support.”
Intel Region reports that no fewer than 17 Northern states were thrown into darkness for more than one week following the frequent collapse of the national grid due to attacks on electricity towers by the bandits.
The grid has recorded 11 collapses this year, plunging the entire country into darkness. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has blamed the trend on obsolete power infrastructure.
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