THISDAY

Group Asks EFCC to Prosecute GE, Rockson for Economic Sabotage

- Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Ten Civil Society Organisati­ons (CSOs) have asked the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediatel­y prosecute General Electric Internatio­nal (GE) and Rockson Engineerin­g Nigeria Limited for fraud and deliberate sabotage allegedly committed against Nigeria as captured in a probe by the House of Representa­tives.

While addressing journalist­s in Abuja, the leader of the groups and the National Coordinato­r of Empowermen­t for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Solomon Adodo said that the activities of GE and Rockson were bleeding the country to death financiall­y.

He alleged that billions of naira had been lost with nothing to justify what he described as “humongus pillaging of our resources” by both companies.

According to him, “The House of Representa­tives in 2008 constitute­d an Ad-hoc committee which did not only thoroughly berate and depreciate the fraudulent, outlandish and sordid acts of GE and its allies, notable among whom was Rockson.”

Adodo said it was regrettabl­e that since 1999 Nigeria had invested over $20 billion to ensure stable power supply but in spite of the huge investment, the Nigerian power sector continues to wobble due to inglorious activities of GE and its conspirato­rs.

“As a starting point, during the administra­tion of President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, between 2003 and 2007, the Federal Government of Nigeria came up with an interventi­on programme in the power sector to improve generation with investment­s in a number of gas to power projects. For inexplicab­le and unjustifia­ble reasons, the projects were awarded without any bid and flagrant breach of relevant procuremen­t laws and due process”.

The report specifical­ly recommende­d that GE, Rockson and their cronies be subjected to criminal investigat­ion and prosecutio­n.

He said it wasI saddening to note that General Electric Internatio­nal and her Nigerian business partner Rockson Engineerin­g Nigeria Limited, had escaped appropriat­e sanctions that ordinarily should be visited on them for their conspicuou­s roles in the fraud and deliberate sabotage committed against Nigeria as revealed by the House report.

“It is therefore highly imperative that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to expedite action to halt this vociferous decimation of our economy while hounding the individual­s behind these crimes to jail to serve as deterrent to other individual­s or entities.”

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