The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating power sector reforms and expenditure from 2007 to 2024 has asked the Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant to explain why it failed to disclose N18 billion it received from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) in 2023.

The query was issued by the Committee Chairman, Ibrahim Aliyu, during the resumed investigative hearing at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Monday.

Aliyu said the Committee’s records showed that Azura received more than N18 billion in excess tariff payments and other financial settlements from NBET between January and June 2023.

He noted that the inflow was not included in the company’s written submission, despite the Committee’s request for detailed financial disclosures.

He stated that the investigation covers financial obligations of the Federal Government to private operators through NBET, intervention programmes of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and appropriations relating to the power sector.

“Our mandate requires full disclosure of all financial inflows and obligations,” he said. “These records show payments that your submission does not reflect.”

Azura’s Head of Legal and Compliance, Akeem Olabende, acknowledged the omission and said the company had misunderstood the scope of the required documentation.

“We did not fully understand the documentation that the Committee required,” he told lawmakers. “Now that I have a clearer understanding, we will go back and ensure that all the financial documents and additional details the Committee has requested are provided.”

Olabende also confirmed that Azura’s submission did not include information on budgetary allocations, loans, grants, bank settlements, or other inflows linked to the Federal Government.

Committee members reminded the company of its constitutional obligation to provide complete information and warned that continued non-compliance could lead to enforcement measures.

The Committee granted a new appearance date to the Managing Director of Yola Electricity Distribution Company, Abdulrahman Isa, who will present his company’s records at a later hearing.

NBET is responsible for purchasing electricity from generation companies under Power Purchase Agreements and reselling it to distribution companies.

The Azura-Edo plant, commissioned in 2018 as a 461MW open-cycle gas turbine facility, operates under a take-or-pay arrangement that requires NBET to make capacity and energy payments whether or not the grid takes the full output.

Government documents show that NBET paid Azura more than N18 billion in 2023, including excess tariff settlements and capacity-related obligations arising from the PPA.

The Committee is now examining how these payments were recorded and utilised as part of its broader review of Federal Government spending in the power sector over the past 17 years.