• Electricity workers threaten strike over planned sale of TCN
The Federal Government has assured prospective power investors that the five National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) put up for sale will go on as planned.
Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the agency overseeing the privatisation of the five plants, Mr. Alex A. Okoh, told reporters in Abuja, yesterday, that the move was in line with the bureau’s 2021 work plan as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and would be strictly adhered to.
The plants are: Benin Generation Company Limited at Ihovba, Edo State; Calabar Generation Company Limited, Cross River State; Geregu Generation Company Limited, Kogi State; Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, Ogun State; and Omotosho Generation Company Limited, Ondo State.
He said the evaluation committee constituted by the management of the bureau, which also includes nominees of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), was trained by the adviser on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 and commenced work immediately on June 30, 2021.
It would soon present its report to the management and subsequently to the technical committee of the National Council on Privatisation for approval.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), meanwhile, has threatened to embark on strike over the Federal Government’s planned sale of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
A statement signed by the General Secretary of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, the union called on the National Assembly and Nigerians to resist the push for the sale of TCN, stating that the move was capable of causing a total breakdown in the power sector.
The union said that almost eight years after the privatisation of the power sector, there has not been any visible improvement in terms of power supply, expansion or investments by the new owners of DisCos and GenCos.
It attributed the dismal performance of the sector to the fundamental loopholes embedded in the privatisation arrangement, which was designed to fail from beginning.
The union asked: “Why would the Federal Government want to privatise TCN with the improvement made in terms of expansion and strengthened transmission network? The five-yearly performance appraisal process provided for in the Electric Power Sector Reforms (EPSR) Act, 2005 has been jettisoned despite calls by Nigerians to review the performances of the sector players.
“A dime has never been declared as profit for government’s 40 per cent asset ownership in the privatised companies till date, yet it remains a pitiable tale of ‘private gain, public disaster’.
“It is embarrassing to say the least that anybody in the name of privatisation will contemplate the continued disposal of critical national economic assets to private corporate organisations, who act as fronts for a few that have benefited immensely from the whole process since November 1, 2013 to the detriment of Nigerian masses.”
