ICAN seeks failed transactions tribunal in power sector

The President/Chairman of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Davidson Alaribe, has called for a failed transactions tribunal to handle the rot in the power sector.

Alaribe said this on Tuesday during a media parley at the headquarters of the institute in Lagos.

Speaking on the poor electricity supply in the country, Alaribe, who is the 60th president of ICAN, urged the government to understudy countries and communities with regular electricity in Nigeria and adopt a similar strategy to boost supply in the country.

He said, “We should also find out from other countries and even locations in Nigeria where they have 24 hours. They say they have privatised the power sector but they are owing. That means the unbundling was not properly done. The government should get to the root of it. The people who bought the distribution companies, were they qualified? Which money did they use? It cannot be business as usual. Why are they not working well?

“We should set up a failed transaction tribunal. The government should try them. If they misled the government, they should be jailed.”

Nigeria’s power sector was privatised in November 2013 and over N7tn worth of investment had been put in but the power supply in the country is below demand.

On Monday, the national grid experienced a partial collapse, plunging some parts of the country into darkness.

On the ongoing hunger protest across the country, Alaribe maintained that dialogue was key to resolution on the part of the government and the citizenry.

“They gave notice that this protest would happen. The organisers held meetings with security agencies. The government should have engaged them. Ask, ‘What are the things you want us to do which we have not been doing? Write it down and bring it to us.’ The government should engage every layer—the professional bodies, the civil society organisations, and every layer of society within the citizenry for input.

“I’m not talking about a jamboree committee where people only go allowances. The government should find a way of engaging very effectively. Also, the citizens, we should continue to make our suggestions known. The press, the CSOs, and the professional bodies should collaborate on a working paper and advise the government on what to do. There is a need for dialogue on all fronts,” he posited.

Alaribe disclosed that ICAN was planning to meet the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to discuss the proposed 70 per cent windfall tax and other topical issues.

He said, “We have made our position known in the position papers we have but as it is now. We are proposing to see the governor of CBN to tell him more about what we propose to do. I don’t want us to advise him on the pages of the newspapers.

“We want to see him and tell him our exact position based on things that have happened. We have written position papers; we have done quite a lot, but very soon we are going to meet the CBN governor.”