Corruption and Performance of Public Corporations in Nigeria

Corruption and Performance of Public Corporations in Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

This project work examines the issue of corruption and performance of public corporations in Nigeria, with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as a case- study.

The specific objectives of this study include: (i) To determine if corruption in PHCN constitute a major contributory factor that has undermined the effectiveness of PHCN to provide adequate quantity and quality of electricity in Nigeria, and (ii) To ascertain whether or not government regulation and policy on the provision of electricity in Nigeria encourages corruption in the electricity sector.

The theoretical framework of analysis adopted in this study is the Systems Theory which enables us to analyze PHCN as a system that receives input of demand and support from its environment and produces output in form of delivery of electricity services to its environment.

The data for this study were obtained from secondary sources such as textbooks, journals, official documents, and articles and were analyzed with a simple percentage method of analysis.

The findings of the study are: (i) Corruption in PHCN does not constitute a major contributory factor to the ineffectiveness and poor performance of PHCN, and (ii) Government regulations and policy on the provision of electricity in Nigeria encourages corruption in the electricity sector in Nigeria which undermines the performance of PHCN.

Consequently, our recommendations advocate for government to ensure a comprehensive reform of the power sector and application of market principles in the operation of the sector to attract private investments in the sector as well as introduce and enforce policies that will protect the interests of the low-income earners and low electricity consumers in the operation of the electricity industry..

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page …………. i
Certification/Approval ……………. ii
Dedication ……….. iii
Acknowledgment…………….. iv
Preface ………………………………….. v
Abstract ……….. vii
Contents ……………….. vii
List of figures/tables ……………………….. x

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Introduction ……………… 1
1.2 Statement of problem ………….. 5
1.3 Objective of study ………………… 7
1.4 Significance of study ………… 7
1.5 Literature review ………………………… 8
1.6 Theoretical framework …………… 18
1.7 Hypothesis ………………… 21
1.8 Methodology …………… 21
1.9 Method of data collection ……… 21
1.10 Method of data analysis …… 22

Chapter Two: The History of Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution in Nigeria

2.1 Introduction … 24
2.2 The growth of electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Nigeria… 24
2.3 Statistics on provision and consumption of electricity in Nigeria and in 22 selected countries from 1992 to 2006 32
2.4 Data on Power Holding Company of Nigeria personnel …… 44
Chapter Three: Corruption and Performance of Power Holding Company of Nigeria …46
3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 46
3.2 Corruption in Power Holding Company of Nigeria ……………………. 46
3.3 Analysis of statistics on provision and consumption of electricity in Nigeria in view of statistics on provision and consumption of electricity in other countries, PHCN personnel, and corruption in PHCN …… 49

Chapter Four: Government Regulation and Policy on Provision of Electricity in Nigeria and Corruption in the Electricity Sector

4.1 Introduction ……… 60
4.2 History of government regulation and policy on the provision of electricity in Nigeria ……….. 60
4.3 Government regulation and policy on the provision of electricity in Nigeria and corruption in the Electricity Sector 65
4.4 Analysis of government regulation and policy on the provision of electricity in Nigeria, corruption in the electricity sector and the performance of the public electric utility company ……….. 73

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation

4.1 Summary …………… 84
4.2 Conclusion ……………… 85
4.3 Recommendation  85
Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Electricity has been recognized long ago as very critical to the transformation and achievement of well-being for any society. Consequently, members of every society expect the government to develop and enforce a policy that will guarantee the adequate quantity and quality access to electricity by the members of the society.

The Nigerian State has always, even during the colonial era, professed its desire to ensure that inhabitants of Nigeria are provided with electricity for domestic, commercial, and industrial usages. This necessitated the commencement of electricity generation in Nigeria in 1896.

The organization (PHCN) which until 2005 following the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005, was the only entity legally permitted to generate.

Transmit and distribute electricity (Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, 2006:6,9), began operation as an Electric Utility Company in Nigeria in 1929 under the name, Nigeria Electricity Supply Company (NESCO), with the construction of a hydroelectric power station at Kurra new Jos (www.nigeriafirst.org, 2005: 2), (www.kusamotu.com, n.d.:1).

Subsequently, with the rise in demand for electricity, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was established in 1951 to replace NESCO.

In 1962, the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was instituted with a mandate to develop the hydropower potentials of Nigeria, but in 1972, ECN and NDA were merged to form the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) through the promulgation of Decree NO 24 of I April, 1972, with power to generate and maintain an efficient supply of electricity to every part of Nigeria (www.nigeriafirst.org, 2005: 2), (www.kusamotu.com, n.d.:1).

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StudentsandScholarship Team.