The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help tackle vandalism and energy theft in the power sector.
Tegbe made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja when he led a Ministry of Power delegation on a courtesy visit to the EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at the Commission’s headquarters.
The minister said vandalism and energy theft were causing heavy losses to the sector, amounting to billions of naira annually.
He said the ministry lacked the statutory powers to prosecute offenders and could only report cases to the EFCC.
“There are two areas where we need your intervention. One area is vandalism. There is a lot of vandalism going on in this country. People are stealing manhole covers and other valuables.
“The vandalisation is affecting our towers. The President has charged us to create awareness and also prosecute people (those stealing and buying) but we do not have the power to prosecute offenders.
“We can only report to you. They can be arrested and prosecuted. We believe the Commission can help us in that area. We need to collaborate,” Tegbe said.
He also identified energy theft as another major concern, saying companies with access to electricity were failing to pay their bills.
“The second area is energy theft. Companies that have access to power do not pay electricity bills. We are losing billions annually. We need your intervention,” he said.
Tegbe commended Olukoyede for the EFCC’s achievements in investigating and prosecuting economic and financial crimes, as well as recovering proceeds of crime.
He also thanked the Commission for its intervention in the legal dispute that stalled the 215-megawatt Kudendan Power Plant project in Kaduna State.
Responding, Olukoyede described vandalism and energy theft as revenue fraud and “major concerns and acts of economic sabotage”.
He pledged the Commission’s collaboration with the ministry and said it would introduce Fraud Risk Assessment and Control mechanisms across the ministry’s projects, including abandoned and new projects.
“We are ready to work with you particularly in the area of incorporating Fraud Risk Assessment and Control to all your projects; both the abandoned ones and the new ones coming up. We will set up a team to analyse and audit some of the projects,” he said.
Olukoyede further assured the ministry of the EFCC’s support in monitoring ongoing projects, stressing that the Commission would not wait until funds were stolen, particularly on sensitive projects.
“It is not going to be business as usual,” he said.
