From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja

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The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committees on Power and Public Procurement to investigate the July 2015 renewal of a 2010 N1.6 billion contract between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Manitoba Hydro International Nigeria Limited.  The committees are also to probe the loss of N3.7 billion to an alleged salary fraud by the management of TCN. The initial three-year contract to manage TCN’s facilities, which expired on July 31, 2015, was extended by a year and slated to expire on July 31, 2016.
This was sequel to the adoption of the motion entitled: “Urgent Need to Investigate the Massive Corrupt Practices being Perpetrated by Manitoba Hydro International Nigeria Limited in its Management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria”, sponsored by Jonathan Gaza (PDP-Nasarawa).
In his lead debate, Gaza alleged that the Managing Director of TCN earns a monthly salary of N35.5 million, while other eight expatriates are paid N20.5 million per month.
He also said that despite receiving such huge sums, the TCN has since four years used N395 to a dollar as the exchange rate based on which the salaries are paid.
Gaza said: “In April 2016, the TCN unlawfully revalidated a 2010 contract worth N1.9 billion and awarded it to ABN India without due process in flagrant violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“The Manitoba Hydro International Nigeria Limited has not met its key performance indicators under the management contract and has clearly failed to justify the humongous sums of money it has drawn in expatriate emoluments.”
But the latest investigation comes after the House on June 8 for the second time, stepped down the report from its Committee on Power, which investigated the alleged approval of N2.7 billion as severance pay, for the former Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, and seven other commissioners of commission.
Chief among the recommendations as contained in the report of the committee published in the Order Paper for Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 is that which seeks to terminate the contract for the management of transmission, system operation and market operation undertakings between TCN and Manitoba.