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Power Privatization: Labour, Governors Accuse FG, Privatization Council of Shady Dealings

By on October 22, 2012

National Council of Privatization

 

The Power Privatization exercise continues to draw criticisms from various corners with the latest controversy circling around the outcome of the bidding process.

The Organized Labour under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have accused the government of selling away the country’s power assets at giveaway prices to cronies and politically exposed persons.

General Secretary, NUEE, Mr. Joe Ajaero said, “The bidding process has opened another wound that must be healed before we settle the matter in the power sector. The unresolved labour issues are issues that do not require negotiations any longer. They don’t require negotiations because our entitlement is our entitlement and it must be paid. Whether you are now dashing the companies to your friends, you have to look for our money and pay us.

“We are ready for them this time around since they have decided not to carry the unions along because part of the agreement made by the unions and the Hassan Sunmonu-led negotiation team was that any time the evaluation of PHCN is to be carried out, the unions will be involved.”

Also Ajaero and the NUEE accused the government of selling the assets at deep discounts to their cronies, as was commonplace in the Obasanjo era, seemingly a common practice of the PDP-led government.

Ajaero said, “We want to tell Nigerians that PHCN makes N300bn every year and they have sold it finally for N200bn. I weep for this economy, management or administration as the case may be. It shows that there is something wrong and that which is wrong, we must dig it and find it out.

“As for the distribution companies they are selling, the land which these offices occupy is almost worth N1tn. This is excluding the structures or buildings on the land. So, this is daylight fraud.”

In a related development, four governors,  Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti),representing  Southern Electricity Distribution Company Limited consortium have accused the National Council of Privatization of sabotaging their bid for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company.

Speaking in defense of the council, Chairman of the Council’s Technical Committee, Mr. Atedo Peterside, said the accusation by the governors was without merit.

He said, “It is sad that in year 2012 that some Nigerians will not go and read the rules before they rush to make comments. The rules  are in 72 pages. They should sight which rules were breached. If they read and understood the rules, they will comprehend that the rules were followed to the latter from the very first day of the transactions. They all took part in a race and the final results have not been announced. So, if they are now faulting the entire process, it shows that something is wrong.”

Also Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr Foluso Phillips said, “We had a bidding process in which everybody participated. If they have a problem with the process, the issues should have been raised at the beginning of the process. Why is it that they are now complaining after the process had been concluded?

“We are not in a military era. I don’t really know what they are complaining about because they already have 30 per cent stake in the project. Nothing should stop the privatization exercise because the Summit believes in the deregulation of the Nigerian economy.

“The whole economy should be deregulated because government in all aspect has shown that it is not capable of running a commercial entity.

“See what happened in the telecoms sector. We need deregulation so that the private sector can create good jobs and provide better services.”

One Comment

  1. Israel Awonusi

    October 22, 2012 at 10:16 am

    In GTI, we specialise in Project Management of Electricity Power Generation and Distribution Projects. We impliment turnkey projects in the area of EMS (smart grid systems), Gas or Wind Turbines or both, Industrial Scale Solar Energy power generation systems and so on. Contact us @: [email protected]