In
a statement by Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria's Minister of Power, Works
and Housing, the federal government has revealed how it save about N119
billion resulting from a judgement entered against it.
Fashola
While speaking at a press briefing after Wednesday’s Federal
Executive Council (FEC) Meeting at the presidential villa Abuja, the
Ministry of Power Works and Housing, said it saved the federal
government about N119 billion (N119,369,520,000) resulting from a
judgement entered against it over a litigation from a metering contract
awarded by the previous administration in 2003.
According to a statement by Hakeem Bello, the Special Adviser to
Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing, the
feat was achieved through negotiations and compromise.
The statement revealed further that one of the three memoranda the
Ministry took to the Council for approval was in respect of an inherited
liability from the former Ministry of Power.
Fashola explained that the judgement came “as a results of acts
of officials of government who varied the presidential approval without
seeking further directives from him”.
Premium Times reported that the minister said the officials of
government varied the presidential approval without seeking further
directive from him and then awarded the contract on that basis adding
that the party who was the beneficiary of that contract “which the officials subsequently sought to withdraw” went to court and got a judgment.
Fashola, who cited the incident as an example of some of the problems inherited from the last administration, added, “But
we have successfully reached a compromise on that matter where the
judgment has been compromised for the entire sum of N119 billion to
N19,369,520. So, Government is no longer liable to, under this new
agreement, to pay that amount”.
Pointing out that the negotiations took about the entire period of
his tenure as minister to achieve, the minister added that the
successful negotiation was able to free up another N39.17 billion held
under another Judgement in court to be used now for the supply of
electricity metres to the DisCos.
He also added that all of the disputes arose from a contract to
supply 3,000,000 metres entered into with the contractor and NEPA, which
became PHCN, in 2003, about 14 years ago.
“The contract was never fully performed by both parties; either
by the contractor or government. So, from the very early days they
ended up in court,” Fashola said.
“Government constituted one committee after the other to
resolve the matter. So, there was court judgement, money was left in the
bank, the purpose couldn’t be achieved. Then a new contract was created
which became a liability of N119 billion.”
The minister, however, expressed delight that the Federal Executive Council approved the Memo “to
give effect to the negotiations that we were able to put together to
compromise that judgement entirely and to convert the old N39 billion to
a loan to that contractor so that they can use it to supply metres to
the DisCos” through new rules being developed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
“The minister said one of the other two memoranda sent to
Council by his ministry was with respect for approval to construct the
Pankshin-Balang-Yeleng-Sara-Gindiri Road in Plateau State for N10.461
billion while the second one was with respect to Share- Pategi Road in
Kwara State for N10.29 billion adding that both prayers were approved by
Council,” the statement added.
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