The House of Representatives has raised concerns with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) regarding a N59 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted to electricity distribution companies for the implementation of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
Uchenna Okonkwo, chairman of the Joint Committee investigating the disbursement and use of the loan, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday.
The committee also criticized Meristem Wealth Management Limited and NESI–SSL for authorizing a company to receive 0.5 percent of annual revenue collected by electricity distribution companies until the year 2030.
Okonkwo said NMMP – approved by the Federal Government in 2020 to close the metering gap in Nigeria – has faltered in achieving its objective.
The committee vowed to invoke relevant constitutional provisions against anyone found obstructing investigation.
“We have decided to carry out a full investigation with a view to addressing several anomalies in the electricity distribution sector,” Okonkwo said.
The lawmaker added that the committee gathered that Nigerian electricity distribution companies including Abuja, Ikeja, Eko, Enugu, Kano, and Jos discos are indebted to the CBN for disbursements made to them to install metres, but NERC has not verified the installations of those metres.
Recalls that Nigeria’s metering gap stood at 7.2 million with only 6,288,624 electricity customers – representing 46.57 percent of the total 13,503,342 customers – registered with discos as of the end of 2024 according to NERC.
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