News
36 Investors Express Interests To Buy FG’s Power Plants
No fewer than 36 power sector investors have submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the five National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) put up for sale by the Federal Government.
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, told journalists in Abuja, yesterday, that the privatisation of the five NIPP plants was in line with the bureau’s 2021 work plan as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).
The affected 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.
Okoh revealed that based on the approval of the NCP, the BPE has already engaged the services of a Technical Adviser who would assist the agency in the transaction process.
He added that the Evaluation Committee constituted by the bureau, which also included nominees of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has commenced work on the EoIs.
The initial process was for the ten NIPP plants to be privatized.
That process commenced in 2012 and by November, 2013 bidders had submitted technical and financial proposals for their privatisation.
“In the Request for Proposal (RfP), the bidders were informed that they would be required to pay the full purchase consideration for the acquisition of 80% equity in the NIPP generation companies”, Okoh stated, adding that an approval was given through the NDPHC in February, 2016, to proceed with a phased implementation of the programme by negotiating with the Preferred Bidders of the four (4) NIPP generation companies with the least challenges.
However, he noted that the transaction was eventually stalled largely due to the liquidity challenges in the power sector, amongst other factors.
He said that the challenges were being addressed comprehensively by the Federal Government through various programmes like the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), the World Bank Distribution Intervention Programme (DISREP), the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank’s interventions in addressing the sector’s payments management, as well as, the bottlenecks between the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Meanwhile, workers in the nation’s power sector, on the platform of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have served the Federal Government a notice of industrial unrest over planned sale of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), warning of its threat to national security, among others dangers.
Already, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which had earlier rejected the plan to sell the TUC, declared “Operation Save TCN from the Enemies of Nigeria” and full support for the workers’ action.
The NLC, through its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, called on the National Assembly and other well-meaning Nigerians to join forces with labour and stop any attempt to sell TCN to private individuals to the detriment of the Nigerians.
The NUEE, in a statement by its General Secretary, Comrade Joe Ajaero, argued that “leaving the nation’s full power architecture in the hands of private business owners, who lack the expertise to own and run critical economic assets, poses serious security risk to the nation, as we will be driven by the wimps and caprices of the ‘harvestors’.”
Ajaero contended that the enemies of Nigeria had once deceived the country to grant about N1.5trillion to the same private individuals the government sold its distribution and generation facilities to, at a ridiculous rate of not more than N400billion.
He lamented that almost eight years after the privatisation of the power sector, there had not been any visible improvement in terms of power supply, expansion or investments by the new owners of the DisCos and GenCos.
The NUEE general secretary fingered “Three key officers working with a few vested interest in the Ministry of Power, who do not understand the concept in power generation, transmission and distribution, to carry out their selfish personal privatisation agenda and milk the nation off its vital economic assets.”
According to him, “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% asset ownership in the privatised companies till date, yet it remains a pitiable tale of ‘private gain, public disaster. We had alerted the Federal Government and Nigerians against going into a fraudulent/fictitious agreement with SIEMENS towards improving transmission capacity to a level which the existing nation’s transmission capacity had surpassed.
“It will be recalled that in December, 2019, the Union embarked on an industrial action over non-implementation of agreements reached with the Federal Government over the 2013 privatisation and other salient issues bedevilling the power sector. Despite the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly and the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Power in its deep slumber is still busy pursuing rats when its house is on fire.
“This statement serves as notice to Nigerians that the union will resume its suspended industrial action for the non-implementation of the agreements. Besides, the plan to further enslave Nigerians based on hemlock prescriptions of the IMF, World Bank and Britton Wood institutions will meet the resistance of the masses and workers of Nigeria, who lost their jobs in thousands, some without pay and Nigerians who have been paying for darkness with the over 400 percent tariff increase for services not rendered.
“With the non-implementation of the agreements reached with labour eight years after, worsening power supply situation, exploitative tariff imposition on toiling people of Nigeria, and projected 200 percent increase in tariff in the first year of TCN privatisation, the struggle will be between the oppressors and the oppressed,” they stated.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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