The power ministry has sought the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s intervention to tackle the growing menace of vandalism and energy theft in the power sector.
Power minister Joseph Tegbe made the call when he led a delegation from the ministry on a courtesy visit to EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
“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,” the minister stated.
Noting that vandalism and energy theft were taking a heavy toll on the power sector, resulting in the loss of billions of naira annually, Mr Tegbe said the ministry lacked the statutory powers to prosecute offenders involved in vandalism and energy theft, making collaboration with the EFCC necessary to address the problem.
He added, “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.”
The minister expressed optimism that stronger collaboration between the ministry and the EFCC would help curb criminal activities undermining the sector and strengthen efforts to improve electricity supply in the country.
Mr Olukoyede described vandalism and energy theft as revenue fraud and “major concerns and acts of economic sabotage”, pledging to institute Fraud Risk Assessment and Control on all the ministry’s 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. We must not wait till monies are stolen, particularly on sensitive projects. It is not going to be business as usual,” he stated.