N8b Power Contract By Oyo Govt Exorbitant-Akande
Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande, has described as exorbitant and unjustifiable the award of N8billion Independent Power Project (IPP) contract to provide uninterrupted power supply for the Oyo State Government House and the State Secretariat.
The state governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, had on Saturday, performed the groundbreaking for the construction of 11 megawatts Hybrid Power Solution in a bid to address the unstable power supply in the state.
Makinde, performing the ceremony within the state Secretariat Complex in Ibadan, said the project would be executed by Elektron Energy within six to eight months at the cost of N8.27 billion.
The governor said the contractor will execute and transfer the project, thereafter, the state government will repay the capital expenditure investment over a period of 10 years.
He listed the areas to benefit from the project to include the Government House, the State Secretariat, Lekan Salami Sports Complex and 12 healthcare facilities, including Adeoyo Maternity Hospital and the State Hospital, Ring Road in Ibadan.
Makinde also said the IPP will power not less than 10 kilometres radius of public lighting under the Light Up Oyo Project, the two judiciary complexes at Iyaganku and Ring Road in Ibadan, the state House of Assembly and “a selection of schools within a defined catchment from the generation plant from the state secretariat will benefit.”
However, Professor Akande, in a statement, knocked Governor Makinde, saying though the Government House and the State Secretariat require power supply, they have always enjoyed preferential treatment by the electricity service provider.
He said: “The government only needs to nurture a good relationship with service providers to ensure that the Government House and the State Secretariat and other places like the University Teaching Hospital(UCH) are given priority in electricity supply.”
He said the Makinde-led government “seems to have lost sight of the primary problems facing the state in its choice of awarding contracts at gargantuan cost to matters that do not impact on the lives of the people nor enhance the economy of the state.”
Akande further said: “The primary challenges of Oyo State are youth unemployment, decaying education and health infrastructure and widespread poverty.
“The choice of contracts daily churned out by the government does not seem to take cognizance of the problems facing the good people of the state.
“The contracts seem to be determined by the fancy of the government and the greed of the contractors and career proposal purveyors.
“A state wallowing in youth unemployment should not priotise the comfort of Government House over the future of the youths and the thousands of market women and farmers seeking government support to improve their lives.
“The government is committing present and future generations to debt that will not enhance the economy of the state or improve the well-being of the people.
“It is untenable that government will commit N8 billion to uninterrupted supply to Government House when thousands of youths could have been empowered with such funds through a youth empowerment programme that will promote entrepreneurship in agriculture, digital economy and other engagements that will surely enhance the economy of the state.
“I can only imagine the number of our primary and secondary schools whose quality of service delivery would be enhanced with the commitment of N8billion to the education sector or the number of hospitals that could be brought to higher standard to provide quality health care delivery with N8billion.
“We plead with Governor Makinde to streamline his financial commitment of the state in line with the interest of the greater number of the people of Oyo State and not the comfort of the few.”
