Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, has revealed that a private company held onto N32 billion that was deposited into its account in 2003 for the purpose of supplying three million prepaid meters.

In a statement issued by Bolaji Tunji, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, it was disclosed that the Federal Government had entered into a tripartite agreement with Ziklagsis Network Limited and Unistar International in 2003 to supply three million meters to distribution companies within the country over a period of three years.

The project, aimed at providing meters for Army formations nationwide, failed to commence even though the Federal Government had initiated the project and released a revolving metering loan of N32 billion to Ziklagsis.

The statement further explained that the Minister sought approval from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to recover the funds and allocate them to De Haryor Global Services in order to initiate the project.

“The agreement was not implemented while the fund remained in the bank account of Ziklagsis at the then Prudent Bank, which later moved to Skye Bank, Polaris, and currently Providus Bank,” the statement read.

During this period, Ziklagsis was introduced to the Nigerian Army by the Ministry of Power, and it was also around this time that De Haryor Global Services was introduced to Ziklagsis by the Nigerian Army to facilitate their collaboration.

Discussions regarding the project began in November 2022, and an agreement was signed between the Nigerian Army, Ziklagsis, and De Haryor Global Services to commence metering projects in Army barracks at a cost of N12.7 billion, as part of the MDAs metering project. It is important to note that this agreement predates Adelabu’s appointment as Minister of Power. However, the funds were not released to the service provider, despite their prior efforts to acquire smart meters.

Recognizing the significant meter gap in the country and the financial constraints in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry, the Minister expressed concern over how funds meant for a national project could be withheld by an individual for over 20 years.

He exerted pressure and escalated the matter to the presidency to retrieve the revolving fund from Ziklagsis, along with accrued interest. The President approved this request. Consequently, N12.7 billion was to be released in installments to De Haryor Global Services to commence the installation of the already acquired smart meters.

The Minister should be commended for his efforts in recovering the revolving meter fund, which had remained untouched for over 20 years, thus enabling the eventual commencement of the project.

It should be noted that Adelabu faced criticism for awarding a N40 billion meter contract to a foreign firm, De Haryor Global Services.