Mr. Ola Olukoyede, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has revealed how the agency intervened in 2024 to prevent a contractor mobilised by the Ministry of Power from deploying substandard and fake transmission lines that could have endangered lives and national infrastructure.
Olukoyede made this disclosure on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Abuja during a courtesy visit by Engr. Olusegun Adesayo, Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (MEMSA), to the EFCC corporate headquarters.
He explained that EFCC investigations confirmed the contractor had imported counterfeit power transmission lines for contract execution, prompting the commission to alert the Ministry of Power to blacklist the firm and avert a potential national disaster.
The EFCC boss recounted writing formally to the Ministry of Power after uncovering the scam, stressing that the timely action saved Nigeria from catastrophic failure of critical electricity infrastructure and possible loss of lives and property.
“In 2024, we had cause to write to the Ministry of Power to blacklist a contractor when we investigated and confirmed that he imported fake and substandard power transmission lines for the execution of a contract given to him,” Olukoyede stated, underscoring the agency’s expanding mandate to tackle economic sabotage alongside traditional financial crimes.
He assured the MEMSA team of EFCC’s readiness to collaborate on improving electricity supply nationwide by ensuring strict compliance with industry rules among stakeholders, particularly in procurement and contract execution where the commission holds specialised expertise.
Earlier, MEMSA’s Adesayo highlighted the visit’s aim to build synergy with EFCC in enforcing technical standards, transparency, and accountability across Nigeria’s power sector, where substandard materials threaten safety, reliability, and quality of electrical cables.
He sought partnership in intelligence sharing, probing procurement irregularities, investigating fake electrical goods, contract abuses, regulatory breaches, public enlightenment, and staff capacity building, while committing to internal reforms aligned with federal anti-corruption drive.
Adesayo emphasised regulation and enforcement as vital to protecting public assets, pledging coordinated efforts to safeguard infrastructure and resources through robust internal controls.
The partnership signals heightened inter-agency cooperation to rid Nigeria’s power value chain of fraud, at a time when unreliable electricity continues to stifle industrial growth, small businesses, and household productivity amid ongoing privatisation challenges.
Olukoyede urged MEMSA to prioritise procurement oversight, promising EFCC’s technical support to deliver measurable improvements in power supply reliability.
Industry watchers see the collaboration as a potential game-changer for metering, transmission, and distribution contracts, where ghost projects and material substitution have long drained billions from national coffers while leaving citizens in darkness.
