Not Everyone Has Amnesia

An Unfortunate Attempt At Half Baked Revisionism By The Honorable Minister For Power

• By Dr Uche Diala

On August 27, 2023, I wrote publicly and humbly requesting the Honourable Minister for Power to update Nigerians on the state of power, including the status of the game-changing Siemens Nigeria Power Project, which he inherited.

Unfortunately, after taking forever to finally address the Siemens power project, and after supervising the degeneration of our power supply to worse than pre-2015 levels, the Minister just delivered the most uncharitable and worst form of revisionism and manipulation of facts that I have read in years.

Read the Honourable Minister for Power:

“In 2018, the Nigerian government signed a memorandum of understanding with the German government for the presidential power initiatives, also known as the Siemens contracts.

“The German government agreed to lend Nigeria $2.3bn and employ Siemens to transform Nigeria’s transmission and distribution sector.

“However, due to COVID-19, significant progress has yet to be made in implementing these projects.

“Unfortunately, the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, the foremost champion of the 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”.

Wow! Just wow!

First, for some unknown reason(s), the Minister deliberately avoids mentioning Buhari or even to say the (our APC) last administration. He rather mentions Abba Kyari, the late Chief of Staff. Did Abba Kyari conceive the project, send himself to Germany, did a negotiation on his own behalf and started the implementation of the project?

Imagine that in 8 years’ time, after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has left office, someone rather than referencing President Tinubu or the Tinubu administration references only Femi Gbajabiamila (CoS) when discussing a policy or project done by the Tinubu administration? Just imagine that.

Then to the meat of the matter.

First, the contract for the Siemens Nigeria Power Project was signed between Siemens Energy Germany and the Federal Government of Nigeria (not Abba Kyari) in July 2019. Not in 2018, that the honorable Minister wrongly stated.

Yes. The COVID-19 pandemic happened (which is about the only truth and accurate fact that he stated, obviously because he can’t revise that or lie about it) and that 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.

With all due respect, it is as funny as it is unfortunate that the Minister didn’t know or pretended not to know that the Siemens Power Project was not fully funded by the German government, when he said: “The German government agreed to lend Nigeria $2.3bn” as if that was all the funding involved and Nigeria had no financial responsibility to bear.

As a matter of fact, the Federal Executive Council, on July 29, 2020, 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: “The Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of this vital equipment is a major milestone in the progress of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). We take great care and responsibility to ensure our equipment meets the highest possible standards so that millions of people across Nigeria are provided with better access to stable and reliable energy.”

“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.

Most Nigerians witnessed all these, and I’m sure most of us progressives proudly updated the developments on our social media walls.

So where does one situate the assertion by the Minister that, “…. significant progress has yet to be made in implementing these projects”? Is that deliberate mischief or actual cluelessness? What does “significant progress” mean in technical and practical terms?

Furthermore, according to Minister for Power, “the (Siemens) project was supposed to proceed in two phases, but the pilot phase only progressed significantly once a new government emerged.”

This is inaccurate, to say the least, and most uncharitable to the last APC Administration and the collective efforts, patience and sacrifices of Nigerians in the last 8 years.

As I have shown above, after the initial COVID-19 caused delay, since the project took off in 2022, it has made steady progress.

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) 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.

Speaking with Bloomberg in an interview on Monday, August 7, 2023, Oladayo Orolu, head of business development and government relations at Siemens Energy, said the (Siemens Power Project) deal to rehabilitate and expand the country’s electricity grid by 2025, will now be concluded in 2030.

According to him: “The three-phase project was set back by delays in starting the first phase,”

He added: “When we conceptualised this project in 2018, our plan was within two years we should be done with phase one, but then COVID happened, disrupting supply chains, which meant getting raw materials took longer than before.”

We also know that the Tinubu administration has taken some steps to build on the project, including signing additional contracts, which is commendable and expected as government is a continuum.

So what was the need for the Minister for Power to inject bad blood into the system instead of just continuing with the ongoing project in due acknowledgement and appreciation of what has been undeniably done by the last administration and in line with the new enhancements added by the current administration.

Indeed, if anything, the onus is on the Minister for Power to tell us why he essentially dropped the ball and didn’t keep up with the Siemens Nigeria Power Project after the last administration left, as well as the reason for the abysmal power supply situation under his watch thus far.

In closing, I continue to say that I deeply recognise and appreciate the effort that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is putting in and the work he has been doing since May 29th 2023, even if I have one or two reservations.

A key basis for my support for President Tinubu was my conviction that he had/has the required capacity and my natural expectation that he would build on the positive and verified achievements and foundations laid by the APC led administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance our uninterrupted forward and upward trajectory as a nation.

The idea that some Ministers and appointees under the current administration think that the only way to go is not only to attempt to revise history, but outrightly deny it and create alternative and false realities and even lies is not only unjust and unfair but ridiculous, immature and dangerous.

The President must rein in such elements because they are only succeeding in creating needless bad blood amongst his supporters, members of the party and distrust of the administration and the party amongst Nigerians.

Acknowledging another person’s efforts is a mark of integrity, humility and honour. Trying to deny others’ efforts and achievements is a sign of inferiority complex, mischief and lack of honour and integrity.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not represent the opinions or views of OSUN DEFENDER.