The House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance has summoned the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc, Nnaemeka Eweluka, for shunning its invitation to him for the defense of the budget proposed by the organisation in the 2023 Appropriation Bill.
Chairman of the committee, James Faleke, issued the summons in Abuja on Monday at the budget defence session organised for ministries, departments and agencies supervised by the committee.
The General Manager, Corporate Services, NBET, Aliyu Abba, who represented the MD/CEO, had told the committee that Eweluka went on leave last Friday, which the lawmakers criticised.
Abba also told the lawmakers that he could not answer their queries on Federal Government’s take-or-pay agreements with Azura Power West Africa Limited and Arco Gas, forcing the country to pay the firm $33m and $10m monthly, whether there was energy supply or not.
Deputy Chairman of the committee, Musa Abdullahi, while expressing displeasure with Eweluka’s non-appearance, recalled how the National Assembly convened on October 7, a Friday, when the lawmakers did not hold sessions, purposely to receive the 2023 Appropriation Bill from the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Abdullahi noted how the committee recalled its members from their two-month annual leave to consider the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
He partly said, “In this case, we wrote a letter to the commission and I am sure the MD did receive the letter before he proceeded on his leave. So, if he attached so much importance to what we are doing, he would have excused himself for just one day to be a part of it, more importantly because of the Item 5 on the letter.
“With your leave, Mr. Chairman, I think we must insist that the MD of NBET appears. Even if it is for a day, let him call off his leave. Get it back to him that the committee is insisting that he must appear and defend the budget before we pass the budget.”
