‘Poor coordination, integration crippling performance of power ministry’

•Clarifies new appointments in agencies

Minister of Power, Sale Mamman has said the performance of the ministry and the agencies under it has remained below par due to lack of proper integration and coordination.

Reacting to comments following the suspension of the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Damilola Ogunbiyi and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Marilyn Amobi as well as new appointment at the agencies, Mamman said though the current administration has spent so much on the power some of the inefficiencies in the sector were affecting expected results.

“Indeed, one of the factors affecting the maximum performance of the ministry of power is lack of proper integration and coordination by its agencies in order to subordinate them to the ministry for easy management,” he stated in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Aaron Artimas.

The minister expressed readiness to tackle such flaws, adding that the development is bound to create grievances, from people afraid of losing something in the exercise.

According to him, his task in the sector is not the removal of appointment of officers but how to deliver power to Nigerians, stressing that the ministry is in dire need of sincere public officers.

The Federal Government had two weeks ordered suspension of Ogunbiyi while also asking for the immediate stepping down Amobi.The decision, announced through Mamman came after series of infractions and power play in the agencies as Ogunbiyi was accused of infractions in the agency she oversee.

Though the Minister had asked Ogunbiyi to hand over to the next most senior officer in the agency, while directing an immediate investigation into the activities of the REA towards “repositioning it for better service delivery,” on Tuesday this week Buhari approved the appointment of Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad as Managing Director of REA with immediate effect.

Ahmad is a former Level 12 public official at the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) before venturing into private practices in the power sector. A graduate of Electrical / and Electronic Engineering with Masters Degrees in Development Studies and Project Planning.

The son of late Salihijo Mohammed Ahmed, a former managing director of Afri-Project Consortium, who was a project consultant to the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) at a time the agency was headed by Buhari.

While some stakeholders saw nothing wrong with the new appointment arguing that the new remain qualified, trusted and young, others insisted that the sector deserves someone better, especially considering the governance and the poor performance of the power sector over the year.

Mamman described the development that followed the new appoint as needless, stating that most Nigerians are not susceptible to relinquishing public office even after exhausting their welcome or in the face of apparent failure to perform.

“The removal of any public officer is usually accompanied by high dramas, including allegations of victimisation, discrimination and bias, such is the case with changes made at the Rural Electrification Agency and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, by the Ministry of Power.

“Nigerians should be asking why there was no much improvement in the sector after concerted effort by the government efforts by the government and not to encourage wailers to sulk over public officers who had been in the ministry for four years without tangible results,” Mamman said.