The Senate on Thursday urged the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and other stakeholders to negotiate and engage the African Development Bank (AFDB) for alternative loan if world bank loan conditions do not favour local economic growth at this critical time of massive unemployment and devaluation of Naira.
The upper legislative chamber also urged the federal government to immediately suspend the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) tender for World Bank funded National Mass Metering Programme phase 2 in order to undertake comprehensive review of the procurement criteria to prioritize local manufacturing and Assembly in line with local content and Backward integration policy.
This followed a motion sponsored by Senator Victor Umeh (Labour Party, Anambra Central) titled “urgent need to protect local meter manufacturers in the on going National Mass Metering Programme of the federal government”.
He noted that the members of Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) are capable of producing world standard smart meters, saying TCN and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) under phase 1 of the Mass Metering Programme of the federal government, issued the Association, after a competitive bidding process a letter of no objection to award four million meters in 2022.
He recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria also in 2020 undertook to fund the NMMP phase 1 but “after 8 months of awards to local manufacturers, withdrew funding, which affected the workability of the programme.
Indeed, he observed that the world bank has approved a loan of $155million for the National Mass Metering Programme.
He bemoaned that the ongoing work Bank funded NMMP phase 2 seeks to promote foreign companies participation against competent and pre-qualified local meter manufacturers will “ultimately result in the loss of jobs revenue”.
Senator Umeh stressed that “a deliberate policy to prioritize local manufacturing will catalyse job creation and economic growth”.
The lawmaker further expressed worry that “the current bidding criteria do not only negate some policy initiatives that will facilitate the establishment of a local Metering industrial base with its impact in terms of generating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He added “It also enables loss of revenue to the Nation by granting these foreign companies concession of a custom duty waiver of 45 percent”.
Consequently, Senator Umeh noted that if the federal government and other stakeholders do not make urgent intervention, the ongoing world bank funded NMMP phase 2 would ultimately encourage foreign company participation, loss of jobs and funds, to the detriment of local manufacturers and cause economic retrogression.
