The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) commenced the trial of seven National Electricity and Regulation Commission (NERC) staff today at the Abuja High Court. Sources said the flippant charges include fixing their own “salaries and estacodes.”
The officials were re-arrested by the EFCC after they jointly refused to resign from the board of NERC claiming that their arrest and prosecution was politically motivated by Yar’adua’s right hand men intent on embezzling the funds that were recently released to revamp the ailing power sector.
Two federal officials: Yar’adua’s Chief Economic adviser, Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, and the Minister of Power, Lanre Babalola, have been fingered by the arrested NERC officials as the masterminds of continuous attempts to force them to resign their commissions so that the duo can take over the N177 billion made available by Yar’Adua to reform the power sector even as power generation dips to a new low nationwide and Nigerians groan in growing darkness.
The immediate purpose of the trial according to our sources was to achieve the aim of forcing the seven offficials from resigning to avoid resorting to the National Assembly as statutorily required.
The trial of the NERC officials has led to revelations that already, the sum of N25 billion has been paid out to “contractors” acting on behalf of Tanimu to supply transformers and electricity accessories. The contract, which has been “perfectly executed” according to our sources, is largely responsible for the pressure on Mrs. Waziri to charge the NERC officials to court with 121-counts that lawyers said are reminiscent of the current EFCC leadership’s legal rigmarole that have so far produced zero results in the prosecution of high profile economic criminals in Nigeria.
Mr. Tanimu, whose daughter attends a high profile British college in the United Kingdom for her "A" levels, was the first official of the Yar’adua government to be exposed by Sahara Reporters after we discovered he was in possession of over N7 billion in unspent funds from the 2007 elections. The funds were campaign donations made by businessmen and politicians towards the election of Yar'Adua.
Furthermore, the recent take over of NERC and the total control of the “Power Sector Intervention Funds” by Mr. Babalola (who was Tanimu’s Special Assistant before he was appointed minister) is reportedly preparatory to the 2011 elections. Tanimu and Chief Anthony Anenih, who currently chairs the lucrative Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), have both been tipped to prepare the war chest for the 2011 general elections, which party leaders have reserved for Yar’Adua as a candidate.
Tanimu has secretly taken over the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) with particular focus on negotiations between the Yar’Adua government and the American electricity turbine supplier, General Electric (GE) in a deal that runs into billions of dollars. Tanimu is also Yar’adua’s point man in the gas deals involving Russia gas Company GAZPROM and Nigeria.
A source told Saharareporters that Yar’Adua encourages his associates in the mindless looting of the Nigerian national resources in ways that have never been done before. His wife, First Lady Turai Yar’Adua, as well as his children and in-laws, have taken over many sectors of Nigeria. Turai was fingered in the buy-over of Spring Bank recently, said our source. “This country has become Yar’adua private estate,” an alarmed federal official told our reporters last week.
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