 | Boy howdy, they've spent all that money coming in from those e-mails? |
Some $2.2bn-worth of Nigerian energy contracts were awarded without a bidding process by the former president and his energy minister, officials say.
One was to a company with less than $200 of base capital at the time, a witness told a parliamentary committee. It is investigating why $16bn of investment in the energy sector during Olusegun Obasanjo's eight years in power failed to end power shortages.
Ex-President Abdulsalami Abubakar heads one of the firms, the committee heard. He is chairman of Energo Nigeria Ltd, which received a $163m contract to build a power station by 2009. According to a state official, only 5% of the work has so far been completed.
The BBC's Ahmed Idris in the capital, Abuja, says this week's parliamentary hearings, which are being aired on television, are causing a stir with their revelations. He says many parts of the country go for days without electricity and businesses and many homes rely on their generators.
When President Umaru Yar'Adua came to power last year he announced he would declare a "state of emergency" on the country's energy crisis.
Nigeria currently has 10 power stations - they are all between 20 and 30 years old. Last month, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan said power cuts were an "embarrassment" to Nigeria - after black-outs affected a meeting he was attending. 
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