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NESG urges Governors not to politicise privatisation of power

By on October 23, 2012

NESG Chairman, Foluso Phillips

The Governors that lost out in the bid for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (Discos) have been advised by The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) not to play politics with the privatization exercise.

 

The Chairman, Technical Committee, National Council on Privatization (NCP), Atedo Peter side, pleaded transparency in the process and swore that no irregularity has been done in the process, he further called on those that lost out in the bid for power Distribution Companies (Discos) to state the precise rules that were violated in the privatisation exercise, if any.

 

After losing the bid for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (Disco), the trio, Governor Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), contested the emergence of Vigeo Power Consortium as the preferred bidder.

 

The trio, at a joint news conference in Abuja said the process was faulted and marred with irregularities and threatened not to allow Vigeo Power to function in their states.

 

Speaking on behalf of the others Governor Oshiomhole described the bid process, as conducted by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), as fraudulent and absurd.

 

Southern Electricity, promoted by Edo, Delta, Ekiti, and Ondo States, was edged out by Vigeo Power, partly owned by Mr. Victor Gbolade Osibodu to emerge the preferred bidder for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (Disco).

 

Nevertheless, reacting to the accusation of fraud in the bidding process, Peterside, who doubles as the Chairman of Stanbic/IBTC Bank, said if the losers read and appreciated the rules of privatization process, they will understand that rules were followed to the latter.

 

He said, “It is sad that in year 2012 that some Nigerians will not go and read the rules before they (losers) rush to make comments. The rules (request for proposal) 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,” he said.