Senate to grill minister over N147bn projects

The Senate Committee on Power has summoned Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, over N147 billion included in the capital project of the Ministry of Power.

Senator Gabriel Suswam, The Chairman of the Committee, who invited the Minister during the budget defence of the Ministry of Power, claimed that the committee could not explain how the funds for the multilateral projects in the power sector were being expended .

Suswam said, “The actual capital  budget of the Ministry of power for the 2023 is N44 billion while N147 billion is meant for bilateral and multilateral projects

“We can’t explain how they are expended. You can’t lay your hand on the projects,  and we cannot oversight it. The Ministry of Power does not know about it.

“We are inviting the Minister of Finance to come and explain to us.  The money has been put in the budget year in, year out without specifying the purpose.”

The Minister of Power presented a total budget of N250bn on behalf of the ministry.

(Punch)