OrderPaperToday – The Senate ad-hoc committee on power, currently investigating privatisation in the power sector, accused officials of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) of compromise in monitoring firms which bought the assets.
The committee came down hard on the agency which supervised the process and pointedly accused some of its staff of receiving gratification from companies they are meant to monitor.
Specifically, the committee noted with regret that information at its disposal, indicated that some members of staff of the BPE who were board members in some of the registered power generation and distribution companies received exotic jeeps as privileges.
The committee members lamented that the development might not be unconnected with the inability of the agency to carry out its responsibility of carrying out diligent process devoid of flaws.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Abubakar Kyari, while addressing stakeholders at the second day of the public hearing on the power sector said the implications of such action was that the affected staff might not be able to discharge their duties objectively.
He expressed worries that the interest of the federal government, which still remains 40 percent equity in the privatized firms, have been jeopardized.
The senate spokesperson, who is also a member of the senate committee, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, said the alleged compromise of the BPE staff has affected the required coordination between the power firms and the power ministry.
But the Director General of the BPE, Benjamin Dikki, said his agency has not and will never be compromised in its responsibility of ensuring a perfect process of privatizing the sector for efficient service delivery.
Dikki denied ever collecting gratification in any form in the course of discharging his responsibilities but asked the senate to direct further investigation on the alleged car gifts to the affected firms.
