The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started investigating the alleged $16 billion spent on power during the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari had queried the expenditure on power during the Obasanjo administration.

The ex-president had subsequently replied by expressing his readiness for a probe.

According to The Nation, an EFCC team is already gathering facts that it would use to investigate the case.

The newspaper said the agency may invite two ex-ministers, former top officials of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), present and past officials of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and all the people recommended for investigation by a committee of the house of representatives.

“We are looking into all the allegations and issues surrounding the power projects. We will conduct a comprehensive and forensic probe to ascertain the true status of all the projects,”  the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

“This investigation will actually ascertain how much has been spent so far.  We have many figures being bandied about as follows: $16 billion, $13.278 billion, $10.3 billion, $8.4 billion and $8.55 billion.

“This is not an investigation aimed at ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo or anybody. We have to step in to set the records straight.

“Already, a team is collating facts and figures on these projects as part of the preliminary level/ bend of the investigation. We will retrieve the report of the House of Representatives Committee which investigated the power projects.

“The House actually recommended 18 top former public officers, including two ex-ministers, for investigation by anti-graft agencies, especially EFCC and ICPC. Many salient issues were raised for investigation by the house committee, which was headed by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu.”

In 2008, the Elumelu committee said about $13 billion was spent on power between 1999 and 2007.