TCN allegedly struggles to pay salaries after mismanaging $500m

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is battling to pay its salaries despite the $500million its former Managing Director, Dr. Usman Gur Mohammed, left in the coffers the government-owned firm, The Nation learnt.
The erstwhile Chief Executive Officer, in an interview The Nation in yesterday, said the fund, which his management team raised from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was allegedly grossly mismanaged.

According to him, he also left some concessionary funds in addition to the $500million.

Efforts to speak to TCN’s Public Affairs General Manager, Ndidi Mbah, were unsuccessful as calls made to his phone were unanswered while the Whatsapp message sent to him also failed to elicit response at the time of filing this report.

Mohammed said: “But, by the time I left TCN, apart from the concessionary fund I left, I left almost $500million from the IGR that we set.

“And we did salary increase for TCN staff cumulatively from the time to the time I left close to 10per cent.

“Yet, we were able to save about $500million. But now because the place is not properly managed, go there and you will find out that they are struggling to pay salaries.”

He recalled that he requested an extraordinary tariff increase from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) that was never approved for the TCN.

Mohammed noted that despite the failure to secure the tariff review, he was able to manage the concessionary funds of the company and saved the huge IGR aside the regular payment of salaries.

The former TCN boss, who said the challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) were not as worse and surmountable as they appear, noted that the government only needed competent hands to manage the sector.

Source: THE NATION NEWS