OUR MINISTER HAS GONE MAD AGAIN - DR. UCHE DIALA

Dr. Uche Diala is a Progressive Democrat.

Last year, after supervising the degeneration of our power supply to worse than pre-2015 levels, the Minister of Power delivered the most uncharitable and worst form of revisionism and manipulation of facts, probably in Nigeria's history.

He said interalia then: "Unfortunately, the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, the foremost champion of the project (Siemens Power Project), passed away. After that, an election occurred, and a new government took over. Between 2018 and 2023, there were no significant developments concerning the agreements".That mischievous and deceptive submission by the Minister made me write a piece on 8th April 2024 titled: 'AN UNFORTUNATE ATTEMPT AT HALF BAKED REVISIONISM BY THE HONORABLE MINISTER FOR POWER' where I addressed the Minister's mischief.Unfortunately, the Minister, obviously determined to deceive Nigeria and to distract attention from his woeful outing as Minister of Power, yesterday, tried once more to lie to Nigerians and turn facts on its head.Read the Minister of Power:"We entered into the Siemens contract in 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board. So, you can now imagine since this president came in and now look at the mileage we have achieved. Even in this Siemens project, the pilot phase is almost completed and that is in less than two years, when in four years we didn’t do anything”.Just imagine the audacity of treachery, lies and deceit.First of all, is it not shameful that this Minister would be spewing such lies over a project that wasn't the initiative of the administration that he is part of and desperately seek to distort facts and lie against the administration that had the common sense and political will to do so.Permit me to, once more, publicly educate the Minister.▪︎ The idea of the Siemens Nigeria Power Project was conceived in 2018 by the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the contract to that effect was signed between Siemens Energy Germany and the FGN in July 2019.▪︎ The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic delayed the actual take off of the project, but other things were being done; including getting FEC approvals and setting up the FGN Power Company - a special purpose vehicle created by the Federal Government for the project, etc. The issuance of the award letters to Siemens began the pre-engineering scope of the project, which was to span 3 phases in total (ending in 2025 as originally planned) well beyond the tenure of the Buhari Administration. The pre-engineering aspect included engineering design works, specifications for onshore installation, commissioning works for the transmission and distribution systems, network development studies, power simulation, training, and support services. All these took time.▪︎ On July 29, 2020, the Federal Executive Council approved the payment of €15.21m (N6,940,081,465.20) offshore and N1.708bn onshore as part of Nigeria’s counterpart funding for the power deal.▪︎ In December 2021, the Federal Executive Council also approved $1.9 million and €63 million towards realizing that partnership aimed at modernising, rehabilitating, and expanding the national grid.▪︎ On 28 July 2022, a team of Nigerian engineers led by the MD of Federal Government Power Company, Mr. Kenny Anuwe witnessed the factory acceptance test (FAT) conducted at Siemens Energy Factory in Trento, Italy, of the mega transformers ordered by the FG under the first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative.
▪︎ In an official update by Siemens in August 2022 following the July 28th FAT titled "READYING POWER TRANSFORMERS TO ENERGIZE NIGERIA" and signed by Iain Packham, it stated inter alia: "We have reached a major milestone in the progress of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) for Nigeria and have taken a big step closer to providing Nigerians with better access to stable, reliable, and affordable electricity.Quoting Sean Manley, PPI Project Director, at Siemens Energy, the update stated: "With the successful completion of the FAT, the transformers will shortly be shipped to their various locations across Nigeria before commissioning and installation will begin, to ensure Nigerians start to see rapid impact from improved power supply".Also quoted in the official Siemens update is Mr. Kenny Anuwe, Managing Director, FGN Power Company thus: “The Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) was successful, and the equipment will be delivered and subsequently commissioned in September. I am particularly delighted as this is the first of the major delivery of equipment under the PPI.” The update concluded thus: "These power transformers will be part of the first batch of major equipment delivered to Nigeria from Siemens Energy as part of the PPI. "With a total capacity of 720MVA this equipment will provide approximately four million households across Nigeria with better energy access."▪︎ In September 2022, the transformers started arriving Nigeria as promised. Nigerians witnessed all these, and many of them happily updated the developments on their social media platforms (see some attached screenshots).▪︎ On May 29 2023, the Buhari administration handed over to the Tinubu administration, which appointed a man who clearly neither knew what was happening in our power sector nor what to do about it, as a Minister of Power.As I have shown above, it is clear that, since the project finally took off, after the initial delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it made steady progress, to the knowledge of Nigerians, until May 2023, when the current administration took over and for whatever reason(s) the gimmicks started.So, I cannot understand the Minister saying: "We entered into the Siemens contract in 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board."The question should really be; what have they been doing since this government came on board?Indeed, I cannot comprehend why multiple officials of the current administration (as if by policy) refuse to take responsibility for anything, including their mediocre performance which has put Nigeria and Nigerians in jeopardy, but rather engage in deception, lies, revisionism and demonisation of the last administration, which laid a solid foundation on multiple fronts and sectors for it to build on.For the Minister of Power, instead of these worn-out deceptive antics, he needs to tell Nigerians why the current administration inexcusably dropped the ball on electricity after the last administration left, as well as the reason for the much deteriorated electricity supply situation nationwide, inspite of the astronomical increase in tarrif and significant removal of electricity subsidy by the administration.He can punish Nigerians with high bills for darkness, but it would be going too far by essentially calling us fools to our faces by telling us that what we saw and knew, we didn't see and know.#GodSaveNigeria ©️ Uche Diala  

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