As the end of the second and final tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari is assured come May 29, it is becoming clear that the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to raise the national electricity grid to 7,000 megawatts (MW) by 2021 in the first phase has failed and a further plan to reach 11,000MW this year is at stake.
In an interview, the president, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network (NCPN), Kunle Olubiyo, said there were high expectations for the PPI projects “but after about four years in the pipeline, the PPI has remained low in terms of practically tangible deliverables and low in terms of project’s execution.
According to him, “In real terms, the PPI has not recorded any meaningful impact and does not make any meaning to the citizenry. There has been what looks like incessant shifts in project’s goal post and project’s actionable timelines.”
Olubiyo blamed the monopolistic nature of the transaction by Siemens, saying, “The project by itself is a monopolistic equipment supplies deal struck by Siemens A.G of Germany, with attendant counterpart funding expected to be provided by the Nigerian government. The project, therefore, is not a charity as perceived; it is purely a foreign loan from Germany granted to Nigeria through Siemens of Germany.”
However, for the incoming government, Olubiyo advised, “Having witnessed about four years of delay, the credit facility attached to this project needs to be restructured with the project’s cost, actionables, deliverables and timelines. A project review in line with the foregoing should be embarked upon to capture the period of delay and non-performance.”
