By Gloria Ikibah

Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) has given a breakdown of agency’s 2024 budget performance and its 2025 budget proposal to the House of Representatives Committee on Finance during the 2025 budget defence session.

In his presentation, the Managing Director, John Akinnawo disclosed that the 2024 operational expenses were fully funded through regulatory income approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Akinnawo who provided further details, listed disbursements to generation companies, amounting to N450 million, facilitated by the Accountant-General on behalf of NBET. He also highlighted the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations on generation costs, stating,

He stated, “I am happy to report that our operational performance for 2024 achieved a 95% implementation rate, with a revenue receipt of ₦2.4 billion and an expenditure of ₦2.3 billion.”

“Tariffs and gas costs are dollar-indexed. The significant movement of the Naira from ₦460 to over ₦1,600 to the dollar has resulted in substantial tariff shortfalls, estimated at ₦1.7 trillion in 2024.”

For the year 2025, NBET proposed a budget of ₦705 billion under the Power Reform Program, which the Federal Government has committed to funding. This amount according to the MD includes provisions to bridge the gap between the current non-cost-reflective tariffs and actual generation costs.

“The Federal Government continues to fund the tariff shortfall to ensure stability in the power sector. However, the regulator must adjust tariffs to reduce the deficit”, he noted.

On regulatory challenges, he emphasised the need for greater public awareness regarding policies that allow community investments in transformers and other infrastructure to be recouped.

“We need widespread sensitization so that communities investing in their power networks can benefit from agreements with distribution companies approved by the regulator,” he said.

He also provided an update on NBET’s financial audits, stating that the 2023 audit, conducted by KPMG, was nearing completion, with plans to commence the 2024 audit soon.

The committee members raising concerns over power generation, tariff policies, and funding shortfalls, especially in regions like Bayelsa that still experience significant electricity deficits due to vandalism.

In response, the Managing Director expressed empathy and reiterated NBET’s commitment to working within its mandate to support the government’s energy reforms.

The House Committee pledged to review NBET’s submissions as part of the broader effort to stabilize Nigeria’s power sector.

NBET’s proposal to use N800m to purchase project vehicles in 2025 was neither accepted nor rejected by the Committee.

However, a member of the Committee, Leke Abejide (ADC, Kogi) asked, “Mr MD, you are requesting money to buy vehicles but you did not specify the kind of vehicles you want to buy. Where are you buying them from?”

Consequently, the Chairman of the Committee, Abiodun Faleke threatened to expunge the proposal for the purchase of vehicles if Akinnawo failed to justify why the agency needs as much as N800m for the purchase of new cars.

“Why spent N800m on vehicles? What sort of vehicles are you buying? If we don’t get answers to these questions today (Tuesday), we will expunge it,” Faleke said even as the NBET boss promised to avail the committee of all the information it requested.

Also the Managing Director of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Takang, outlined key updates on the 2024 budget performance and projections for 2025.

Speaking on the 2024 appropriation, the Managing Director explained that funding for personnel expenses had been released as expected.

He added, “The releases from appropriated funds for personnel went ahead earlier, and the decisions that came out of that have been implemented.”

The presentation included a breakdown of variances in releases along with explanations for those variances.

Discussing MOFI’s portfolio of investments, he outlined different categories of companies under their oversight, and highlighted challenges with companies that are yet to turn a profit.

“On page 3, for example, we see the GSI X2, which indicates all the companies we are working with and where we have investments. We also have a second category of companies where services will be transferred directly to GSI”.

“There is a third category of companies that are not profitable yet. We are working closely with these companies to ensure they achieve profitability,” he added.

Dr. Takang also addressed achievements with specific projects completed in 2024, as well as ongoing efforts with investment companies.

“There are several special companies and projects that were completed last year, and we continue to manage investments in companies where there is no debt, but significant opportunities for growth,” he noted.

Looking ahead to 2025, he empemphasised  need to focus on investments in key categories.

“In the 2025 project proposal, we are prioritizing the second category of investments to drive financial growth and sustainability,” he stated.

There was discussions on strategies to ensure profitability across MOFI’s portfolio, as lawmakers commended the agency’s efforts, and urged greater transparency in the management of public investments.