Oil & Energy

Twists, Turns Of PHCN Privatisation

Published

10 years ago

March 3, 2014

Thousands of former staff
of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) recently, besieged the zonal office of the company along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, in desperate move to prove their originality and get captured in the last biometric revalidation exercise.
Leader of a team of verification officers from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), told journalists that the exercise was designed to accommodate staff who were not captured in previous verification exercises and who were unable to get their terminal benefits which is an integral aspect of the privatisation of PHCN.
In the crowd were some pensioners in their seventies cladding their original documents much older than PHCN itself as they were employed by the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) that transformed to PHCN. They came from different parts of the country to Port Harcourt for the exercise.
Mr Sunday Nnadi who said he came all the way from Arochukwu had spent three days yet, he did not see any hope of getting through. “All the officers do is asking me to fill one form after the other. It is becoming endless,” Nnadi said.
Another staff said, “I put in 35 years serving this company and the only way to thank or appreciate my efforts is to suffer me like this”, said an old ex-staff who simply gave his name as John.
“Imagine, some of us come from Ondo, Enugu, Edo, Lagos, Katsina, but we had been stranded here for the past three years with the government people turning us to beggers,” he continued.
A former executive member of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Rivers State branch, who also came for the exercise querried if the privatization of PHCN was made to bring sorrow to former staff of the firm.
According to him, the present verification is the sixth time workers were being subjected to the exercise, yet to no avail, as many of them were yet to receive their terminal package.
The former exco member of NUEE accused the new investors of sacking virtually all the NUEE executive members because of the unions insistence on members’ welfare.
“They targeted us even when a good number of us have enviable records of service and laid us off while re-engaging others. This is unfair,” he noted.
Responding to the allegation of inhuman treatment of staff and witch hunting of ex-unionists, the BPE team leader said the staff, especially those from Enugu zone, had refused to cooperate and were unruly thereby making the exercise chaotic.
He also said that people were taking undue advantage of the verification to defraud the system.
“About 86,000 PIN numbers have been presented by PHCN workers who were less than 50,000 even when each was expected to present one PIN Number only.
He also said there were cases of different persons claiming to be next of kin of some dead staff and that it created confusion and delay.
“The problem is not from the team but from the workers themselves,” said the BPE official.
He further said fraudsters and imposters were desperately adding to the whole situation revealing that two impostors had been arrested.
He stated that the team was made up of representatives from NUEE, BPE, National Union of Pensioners, Pencom, State Security services, PHCN headquarters, Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Companies, Ministry of Power, Senior Staff Union. “The essence is to make it a one-stop shop as there are different bodies to handle various issues and claims,” he added.
He explained that the new investors were to buy PHCN without any liability and that many retirees were not paid by PHCN before the verification, so BPE is also compiling the authentic list as to enable government clear the payment and that such new challenges were not foreseen earlier.
Restating the Federal Government’s determination to clear all backlog of arrears, he said so far about N361 billion has been paid to ex-PHCN staff.
Another source of the challenges facing the team, according to the leader was the way things were being run in the company. “We have NEPA I and NEPA II. The NEPA II staff were employed by staff of PHCN to assist them in the field, at the end of the month they received about N5000, or N10,000 and we are also handling the complex situation.
He assured that at last, all will get fair treatment from the team and particularly noted that he was not aware of any witchhunting of any former staff as a result of his or her role in the union that championed staff welfare in the past.
The critical state of power had remained a major concern and both the government and a cross-section of Nigerians are of the opinion that if the power sector was fixed, it would impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians irrespective of class, place or occupation.
In adherence to this, Federal Government under past administrations had taken steps to revive the sector but efforts were frustrated by many factors.
The past administration under President Olusegun Obasanjo, started early by appointing Bola Ige, who was suddenly killed and the death of Bola Ige affected Obasanjo effort until recently, the present administration under Dr Goodluck Jonathan approached the problem through privatization.
In a bid to achieve, a former Minister of Power, Prof Bart Nnaji, was disgraced our of office mainly because of the dogged fight by NUEE which accused Nnaji of attempting to buy off the sector with his cronies from inside and outside the country.
Though President Jonathan had no option than to sack Prof Nnaji. Sincerely, the exit of Nnaji had not removed the hitches mounting on the privatisation process of the national power company.
Just last week, power consumers in Azikiwe Street in Port Harcourt, gathered in their numbers at the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, Diobu Business Unit to lay a complaint over poor supply and arbitrary billing.
Though, the group could not meet the Diobu Business Unit Manager, but according to them, a senior staff in the manager’s office told them to go and pay their bill first before complaining stressing that was the new order.
Investigation has also shown that the newly re-engaged staff of PHCN in the new firm were working in fears and that the system has become different from what it used to be when they were with PHCN as government parastatal.
One of the staff said as their six months probation period is fast coming to an end, they do not know their fate.
Irrespective of your posting or level, it is mandatory now that you sign the attendance register daily on resumption between 7:30 and 8am and closing time at 5pm,” he said adding that “it does not matter whether you were in the field or office, you must first get to the office in the morning to sign and return to the office to sign off at closure.
Another lady at Rumuola Business unit narrated some experience. “My brother, the beat has changed and, like it or not, you must change your dancing step to ryme with the new rhythm or you are in trouble,” she said.
She said the reengaged staff work under fear and great uncertainty and most times she remains in office till evening and must not complain or ask for extra pay.
But Mr Clement Jacob, a business consultant faulted the approach of the new investors. “The maxim is that you must give the new workers new orientation to enable them work towards your new vision otherwise, you ought not to blame the workers.
Jacob is of the view that since the ex-PHCN staff were given the civil service orientation, there was need to re-orientate them through some short time training and seminars where the new investors should guide the staff along their new mission as to meet target and succeed at last.
He said it is unfair to subject the new staff to new strategy without preparing them for that.
“In business management, such procedure is unacceptable and it is unfair to punish them.”
The aim of the privatisation, according to Jacob, who runs Matrix Business consult in Port Harcourt, is to achieve improvement in power supply for Nigerians to enable the business environment become better.
He, however, stressed that the staff ought to work with happiness and clearly defined targets to enable the private investors make their profit, “but with the way they are going, I am afraid if they would not meet hitches,” he added.
But Prince Emmanuel Ogba, it is too early to assess the new investors. All must join hands with them to succeed because their success would reflect in improved services.
He remarked that if the new privatization strategy fails, it is not the failure of the private investors but that of Nigeria and called for understanding and collaboration of all in Nigeria even as he advised the power investors to be open to Nigeria.
Prince Ogba urged the new investors to integrate the masses in their operations because of the multidisciplinary nature of the sector and suggested a lot of awareness campaign from the investors at workers’ level and masses or consumers levels.
“It is natural that consumers will complain if the services are not encouraging so the new investors should be proactive and give their strategic staff modern training to meet the new challenges,” he continued.
But to Mrs Joyce Oriji, a cold room operator, “Nigeria is going no where without fixing power. We can fail in leadership but if we get the power sector right so many things would fall into good shape”, she said.
To arrest the problem of irrational and arbitrary billing, some power watchers expressed the view that card system should be adopted as it is done in the telecommunication subsector.

L-R: Chairman, General Electric, Mr Jeffrey Immelt, Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga and Vice President Namadi Sambo, during a meeting with officials of general electric in Abuja last Friday.
Photo: NAN

Chris Oluoh

Oil & Energy

NSCDC’s Anti-Vandal Squad Uncovers Artisanal Refinery In Rivers Community

Published

2 weeks ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The Anti-Vandal Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Rivers State Command, has uncovered yet another local refinery situated at Adobi-Akwa settlement in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The State Commandant, Basil Igwebueze, disclosed this while speaking to journalists shortly after the tour of the Illegal site.
Represented by the Head, Anti-Vandal Squad, CSC Peters Ibiso, Igwebueze said the squad made the discovery following a tipp off, expressing regret that no arrest was made as the boys fled the site upon sighting the squad.
The cammandant’s representative took the newsmen across a tick forest of about 6-7 kilometers from the main town.
The team sighted where the pipeline vandals tapped into the Well Head of yet to be ascertained multinational company, connected their galvanised pipes to several cooking pots, heat up the crude to produce Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
In his words, “Upon receiving a tip-off, the Anti-Vandal operatives swung into action to uncover this illegal oil bunkering site. They were in this forest for two days having cordoned the area, unfortunately, the perpetrators upon sighting our men took to their heels, but investigation is still ongoing to effect the arrests of such defiant elements”.
The Anti-Vandal Unit Head further narrated the operation techniques of the operators of local illegal refineries from the point of extraction of crude through vandalism of oil pipelines to cooking in various ovens where the content is subjected to high temperature and transmitted through pipes to reservoirs for storage and onward trans- loading to buyers.
While insisting that the command would not relent in the fight against illegal dealings in petroleum products, he urged the public to have more trust in the NSCDC by providing actionable intelligence that would enhance possible arrest of economic saboteurs in the State.
“Our commitment to continuously work in tandem with the prosecutorial mandate of the corps in order to rid the State of economic saboteurs remains unchanged. We value our informants and most especially the intelligence driven tip-off received from time to time.
“It is also our duty to ensure that our source of information are not disclosed so as to protect our informants. It is therefore our delight that the public will continue to have confidence and trust in us as we together protect the nation’s critical national assets and infrastructure from dare devil vandals”, he stated.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu

Oil & Energy

Oil Fund Withdrawals Suggest Extended Price Rally

Published

2 weeks ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The world’s largest crude oil exchange-traded fund has bled over $2 billion in less than a year. And it i
s not due to investors finding greener pastures elsewhere with other ETFs; it is the siren call of soaring prices that is prompting this mass exodus.
The WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil exchange-traded commodity had assets under management of some $2.5 billion last summer, according to Bloomberg. Now, the publication reports, this is down to $396 million, with withdrawals accelerating over the past few days.
In that, withdrawals seem to be following price trends. Brent earlier this month topped $90 per barrel and, after a short pause earlier this week, is back above that threshold again following the latest Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip amid reports about a possible ceasefire.
While it is true that prices are currently driven higher mainly by geopolitical events, fundamentals are also at play. A growing number of forecasters are updating their predictions for benchmarks this year on expectations of resilient demand and increasingly tighter supply. And investors are following the trend.
Even those who have not sold their ETF holdings in order to invest more directly in the rally are benefitting. That same WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil ETC generated returns of over 13 percent during the first quarter of the year as opposed to an average 8.8% gain in the S&P 500.
The WisdomTree exchange-traded commodity became the world’s largest oil fund at the beginning of last year. The fund saw inflows of over $1 billion, which poured in as the deflation in oil prices that had begun in late 2022 extended into the new year. Now, the trend has reversed and it has reversed strongly.
The WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil ETC is not the only fund seeing outflows. The U.S. Oil Fund, which used to be the world’s biggest oil fund before the WisdomTree inflows last year and is now the world’s biggest oil fund once again, also saw a flurry of investor exits as benchmarks climbed higher.
According to Bloomberg, the fund’s assets under management currently stand at $1.3 billion, down from some $5 billion during the pandemic.
In further evidence that oil makes money, the Middle East is about to become the only region in the world with three trillion-dollar sovereign wealth funds. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is worth $993 billion, Bloomberg reported in March, while the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority are breathing down its neck.
Meanwhile, investment in transition-related stocks is on the decline, according to data reported by Reuters. The S&P Global Clean Energy Index is down by 10% since the start of the year. In comparison, the S&P 500 Energy Index, which comprises Big Oil names, has gained 16.3%.
The data shows that investors are growing wary of all the promises made by transition advocates as evidence mounts that these were not based on due diligence. Wind and solar stocks suffered a crash last year when this first became clear.
Now, we are witnessing a continued awakening among investors to the challenges and the realistic potential of transition technology and alternative energy sources.
“With conventional energy having its own bull run, I think the alternative funds will struggle for the foreseeable future, and we shall see what the election brings”, the Managing Director of capital markets at Phoenix Capital Group Holdings told Reuters.
The comment summarizes the challenging situation for alternative energy investment and highlights the rebound of interest in oil and gas, much to the chagrin of decision-makers on both sides of the Atlantic.
In both Europe and the U.S., things can get even worse for the transition after the respective elections—in June for European Parliament and in November for U.S. President. It will certainly be an interesting year in energy.
Slav writes for oilprice.

By: Irina Slav

Oil & Energy

CNG Initiative: FG Targets 25,000 Jobs, $2.5bn Investment

Published

2 weeks ago

April 15, 2024

The Tide

The Programme Director and Chief Executive, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiatives, Michael Oluwagbemi, has announced the Federal Government’s plan to target over 25,000 jobs and $2.5 billion worth of investment by 2027.
Oluwagbemi made this known during the Presidential CNG stakeholders’ engagement workshop held at BOVAS Auto-Gas Filling Stations, Ajibode Bus-Stop, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, at the weekend.
He stated that the initiative, which was part of palliative measures to ease the burden of the removal of fuel subsidy, would attract enormous investment and job creation as well as impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, he called on Nigerians to embrace the new initiatives by the Federal Government as part of palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country.
“On October 1, 2023, when the President gave his speech, he announced that the Presidential CNG initiatives are going to be rolled out as part of palliatives on the removal of fuel subsidy.
“One of our major concerns is to make sure that the transition for the transportation sector is a cheaper, safer, and more reliable source of energy.
“In the coming weeks, we are going to be announcing the conversion incentives programme which will enable Nigerians currently using PMS and Diesel fuel vehicles to be able to convert their vehicles at designated places across the country at a discounted price based on certain pre-qualification under the palliative programme of the Federal Government”, he said.
On the value chain of the initiative, Oluwagbemi explained that the Federal Ministry of Finance is acquiring tricycles and buses that would be assembled and manufactured in Nigeria, with more than five automobile firms being activated.
“The value chain of the programme starts with every one of us. From the point of converting your vehicle, you have created the demand for natural gas.
“If your vehicle is converted by technicians and refuelled by autogas workshops across the country, then you are creating jobs for civil engineers and technicians. You’re creating jobs for the upstream in terms of upstream activities associated with oil and gas.
“And in line with the programme, the Federal Ministry of Finance is acquiring a number of tricycles and buses that will be assembled and manufactured in Nigeria. More than five of our automobile firms have been activated. So, you can see that in terms of job creation, the opportunities for Nigerians are enormous.
“The President has said we need to convert one million vehicles by 2027. We need 1,000 conversion shops and we need over 3,000 filing stations just like this. You can imagine the level of investment required for this.
“In order to sustain one million vehicle conversions by 2027, we need 25,000 technicians. So, the job creation potential is an opportunity for job creation in addition to our gross domestic product, $2.5 billion worth of investment to be mobilised in the next four years and of course more than $25 billion added to our GDP”, he said.
Oluwagbemi further called on Nigerians to embrace the new initiatives by the Federal Government as part of palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country.
The representative of BOVAS Filling Station, a private investor in the Presidential CNG Initiatives, Temitope Samson, said, “We have worked with the regulators, we are also working with the Presidential Initiatives on CNG to make sure that standard safety is adhered to. We have also worked with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria to ensure that we have a standard accepted internationally.
“Our role is to ensure that there is availability of CNG across the nation, and to also ensure we have enough kits and tanks that are converted for people to use as many as possible, and to ensure safety and to train others so that anywhere they get to, they have very safe conversion”.
Recall that last year, President Bola Tinubu approved the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas initiative(PCNG-i)
This initiative aims to not only introduce more than 11,500 new CNG-enabled vehicles and provide 55,000 CNG conversion kits for existing vehicles that depend on Premium Motor Spirit but also promote local manufacturing, assembly, and job creation.