The Federal Government has suspended further dealing with Siemens AG until investigations into the allegations that the German company offered bribes to some former senior government officials are concluded.


John Odey, Minister of Information and Communications

The Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Odey, made the government‘s position known after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Wednesday. Odey also said that the FEC had approved the cancellation of a contract awarded to the company in the government‘s bid to improve power transmission in the country.

These steps, the minister explained, were taken as a demonstration of the administration’s zero tolerance for corruption. He said, ”The Federal Executive Council considered a memo from the President for the improvement of power transmission and a bid for the supply of transmission maintenance equipment in which Siemens Nigeria Limited participated and won.“FEC cancelled the bid of Siemens Nigeria Limited because of the current investigation into the activities of the company which are at variance with the laws, and norms of this administration.

“The Federal Government places high premium on transparency and strong emphasis on zero tolerance for corruption. You will recall that this company is undergoing investigation in Nigeria and also in Germany for corrupt practices. And as a result of that, we excluded them from the bid and the FEC cancelled the bid they won until this investigation is concluded and they are exonerated or otherwise.”

The minister said the contract that was supposed to be awarded to Siemens would be represented to the FEC since the company had been excluded. ”We did not proceed to award that particular lot that they won. The ministry will resubmit for reconsideration. They will look at other bidders for that same lot before taking a decision. They will consider new contractors excluding Siemens,” he explained.

A witness at a Munich state court had indicted four former Nigerian communications ministers – Cornelius Adebayo, the late Haruna Elewi, Tajudeen Olanrewaju and Bello Mohammed – in a bribery scandal.
Also indicted were officials of the ministry and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Prof. Jubril Aminu, as having received about 10m Euros in bribe at different times from Siemens.
Siemens currently operates a number of projects in Nigeria.

Among them are the 276 MW Afam V Power Plant and the $130m Turnkey project for Celtel Nigeria.
The company had completed the first phase of the 414MW Geregu Power Plant and over 2,000 Kilometres of 33 Kv and 11 Kv transmission lines for the interconnection of various towns and villages in Anambra, Imo, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo and Ondo states. Siemens had also designed and installed over 1,000 kilometres of 132 Kv transmission lines throughout Nigeria from 1979 to date. More than 15 major 330KV and 132Kv substations were also designed and installed by Siemens for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (formerly NEPA).

Siemens installed fleet comprises over100 units and is supported by a service workshop and repair centre in the Onne Free Zone, near Port Harcourt. The FEC also directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that government agencies that generate income and have approval for spending adhere strictly to due process. The council also advised the agencies to ensure transparency and conformity with the law in spending the monies they generate internally. Other decisions taken by the FEC are the award of N1.4bn contract for the design, manufacture and supply of transmission maintenance equipment, including two 150MV/132 power transformers.

Other contracts are for the purchase of six 130MV/33KVA transformers; and the supply of combustion liners assemblies at the Ughelli and Sapele power stations. The supply contract is put at N77m. It also approved the purchase of four 33KVA transformers and 10 11KVA indoor gears to reinforce electricity generation and transmission in the country. The contract that is worth N164.9m will be funded from the internally–generated revenue of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. Other approvals made during the meeting are the award of contracts for the provision of solar-powered street lights for the Federal Capital Territory at N122.4m and the construction of a cottage hospital at Zuma at N276.4m.

It also ratified anticipatory approval from the President for the International Development Agency loan for three states: Kwara, Kano and Kaduna. The credit amounts to $65m. The participating states were selected based on needs and readiness to participate in the IDA, which was advanced to the Federal Government on a concessionary rate for onward lending to states.