How Transmission Company Frustrated Nigeria’s Recovery Of $69.38m Debt

An electricity company has told of how the Nigerian Transmission Company frustrated recovery of plum $69.38m Debt owed Nigeria.

The Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Company which made the startling revelation alleged that Transmission Company of Nigeria did this by filing a petition.

It said the petition stopped it from recovering about $69.38m debt owed it by two foreign firms operating from Benin Republic.

NBET, which coordinates power sales on behalf of the Federal Government, is directly supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, and made the startling revelation in a response to an audit querry.

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The audit query had emanated from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, and has to do with non-compliance/internal control weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the year ended 31st December 2020.

The audit report signed by the Auditor General, Shaakaa Chira, with reference number AuGF/AR/2020/02, was submitted to the Clerk to the National Assembly on the 20th December 2023 by Section 85(2) and (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“In June 2017, NBET and the TCN) through a joint letter, advised the Nigerian Electricity Company and Beninois Electricity Company respectively that they should continue to credit the account of TCN Market Operator pending the signing of the agreements that would put in place a new contractual /commercial framework with NBET.

“NBET proceeded to negotiate a new contractual/commercial framework with CEB and NIGERLEC respectively, but faced challenges from both TCN and the international customers in finalising the new power sale agreements that would pave the way to fully assume the administration of these contractual relationships.

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“While the government has directed NBET to conclude the international contractual engagements, TCN however wrote to the Federal Ministry of Power asserting that NBET has no role in the ECOWAS regional Electricity market and cannot be executing contracts with CEB and NIGELEC.

“The letter further stated that TCN has the responsibility to recover all outstanding debts and noted that they had reconciled the outstanding debt and were discussing a payment plan for offsetting the debt.

“Thus, it is the TCN that is in the best position to render an account for the outstanding payment. NBET is taking necessary steps for the recovery of its portion of the payments that have been credited to TCN”, The management said

In its audit query to the government-owned company, the Auditor General for the Federation alleged that NBET failed to recover about $69.40m, translating to about N25.19bn (at the rate of N363 to a dollar as of 31st January 2019)