BY INALEGWU SHAIBU
Is the hope for regular power supply in Nigeria about to become a dashed hope for Nigeria’s long-suffering energy deficient citizens? Is the trumpeted gas-to-power project, upon which the Federal Government has anchored its plans to boost energy supply on the verge of going into history as another white elephant project?

Those were the questions that the top administration official with the task of resolving Nigeria’s power generation and distribution problems, Prof. Barth Nnaji had to answer when he appeared before a joint Senate-House Committee on Gas.

Although government has mounted committed efforts and resources to break the jinx in the sector, notably the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Power headed by Nnaji, who also doubles as the Special Adviser to the President on Power, the epileptic power supply problem in the country is still far from over.

Professor Nnaji in an appearance before the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Gas told the Committee that the gas-to-power project, with the target to generate 40, 000 megawatts from thermal stations by the year 2020 may collapse due to paucity of funds.

He told the Committee that over N725 billion is required to develop infrastructure in the energy sector which include building gas pipelines to deliver gas to the thermal stations when completed.

Regrettably, he told the lawmakers that no provision was made for project in the 2011 budget which the National Assembly is currently working on.

“There is no way we can shy away from infrastructure if we want to grow the economy and power is critical. I want you to look at it very well because this is key, but government alone is not going to fund it.

“The private sector will have to look for money to come, because the plan is for government to develop the infrastructure to deliver the gas to the power plants and then hands off power generation and distribution in 2011.” Professor Nnaji explained.

Professor Nnaji however told the members of the Committee that government is already looking for alternative source of funds to continue with the project.

The Committee was unconvinced about the success of the project, given its huge cost and the move by government to wash off its hands from power generation and distribution before the end of the year.

Chairman of the Committee Senator Osita Izunaso was of the view that the project will lack credibility if government leaves the funding to third party alone.

He demanded the director general Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Bright Okogwu to include the project in the 2011 national budget, stressing that there no point for government to continue with the gas-to-power project without commensurate financial backing.

He said, “This project must be listed in the national budget. You should give them funding even if it means looking for a third party to attract national prominence. In the next two weeks, let us have a framework of how you are going to achieve the third party and if there is no fund, there is no point continuing with the project. The Task Force should wind up.”

But Mr. Okogwu while responding to the allegation that there was zero budgetary allocation to the project informed the Committee that N195 billion had been set aside for national domestic gas development in the 2011 budget.

He also said that government cannot provide the total N725 billion needed for the project in a budgetary year because of pressing demands from other sectors.

According to him, what is needed is a ‘holistic review in the sector. One of the things plaguing the sector is because investment is not robust; we are not spending sufficient funds.  But as managers of the nation’s resources, we need to prioritise.

“In 2011, we have provided N195 billion, it is there in the budget. N725 billion is close to a trillion. You will not get that from the budget in any year because the aggregate budget is a little above one trillion, so asking us to put another money into the budget will create problem,” he submitted.

The submission by Mr. Okogwu seemingly raised doubts about the government’s much trumpeted quest to resolve the energy crisis this year.

Given the elaborate efforts and resources poured into the activities of the PTF on Power the questions raised on the realisation of its objectives are indeed of very serious concern.