The much anticipated conclusion of the
privatisation of the power sector is
enveloped in uncertainty following
conflicting signals emanating from key
stakeholders on the scheduled handover
of the successor companies of the
Power Holding Company of Nigeria
tomorrow (Friday).
While the Federal Government is
insisting that there is no going back on
the handover date, the PHCN workers
are gearing up for a nationwide strike to
prevent the handover, claiming that
their terminal entitlements have not
been fully paid.
The consortia that won the bids for the
successor power firms, on the other
hand, are anxiously waiting to receive
the nod from the government to take
over the firms so that they can begin
the implementation of their turnaround
plans.
To underline its seriousness about the
November 1 handover of the firms to
the new investors, the Federal
Government has deployed ministers
and key officials to the various locations
of the successor companies to handle
the transfer of ownership on its behalf.
It insisted that 40,093 out of the 47,913
identified workers of the PHCN had
been fully paid their entitlements, which
were put at N294.4bn, while N214.2bn
was paid as severance package, with the
workers’ pension gulping N80.2bn.
The National Union of Electricity
Employees is, however, disputing the
payment of the pension contributions,
and has vowed to call the workers out
on an indefinite strike.
The Federal Government, through the
Bureau of Public Enterprises, on
Wednesday released the schedule for
the handover, with key government
officials mandated to represent Vice-
President Namadi Sambo, who is also
the Chairman, National Council on
Privatisation at the various locations.
According to a statement by the BPE,
the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu
Nebo, will hand over the Abuja
Distribution Company to KANN Utility
Consortium in Abuja; the Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will
hand over the Ibadan Distribution
Company to Integrated Energy
Distribution & Marketing Limited; while
the Minister of Petroleum Resources,
Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, will give
out the Enugu Distribution Company to
Interstate Electrics Limited.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and
Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, will
give out the Eko Distribution Company
to West Power & Gas; the Minister of
Transport, Idris Umar, is expected to
hand over the Kainji Electricity
Distribution Company to Mainstream
Energy Solutions Limited; while the
Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed
Adoke, will handle the transfer of the
Yola distribution Company to Integrated
Energy Distribution and Marketing
Limited.
Similarly, the Minister of Mines and
Steel Development, Mr. Musa Sada, will
oversee the handing over of the Kano
Distribution Company to Sahelian Power
SPV Limited; the Minister of
Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, will
transfer the Jos Distribution Company to
Aura Energy Limited; the Minister of
Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, will hand
over the Ughelli Generation Company to
Transcorp Ughelli Power Plc; while the
Minister of State for Works, Ambassador
Bashir Yuguda, will preside over the
handing over of the Shiroro Generation
Company to North-South Power
Company.
The Director-General, BPE, Mr.
Benjamin Dikki, is expected to hand over
the Ikeja Distribution Company and
Egbin Power Plant to NEDC/KEPCO
Consortium; the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Power, Dr. Godswill Igali, will
handle the transfer of the Port Harcourt
Distribution Company to 4Power
Consortium; the Chairman, Presidential
Task Force on Power, Mr. Beks Dagogo-
Jack, will hand over the Benin
Distribution Company to Vigeo Power
Consortium; while the Group Managing
Director, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, will
preside over the transfer of the Geregu
Generation Company to Amperion
Power Distribution.
Dikki said, “This handover is a
culmination of 14 years of painstaking
effort by the National Council on
Privatisation, Bureau of Public
Enterprises and other key stakeholders
to reform and liberalise Nigeria’s
electricity industry, which began in
1999.”
Igali also said this while briefing State
House correspondents on the outcome
of a meeting between the stakeholders
in the power privatisation process and
Sambo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
that the government was sure of a
successful handing over since it had
made a significant progress in settling
the disengaged workers.
Igali explained that while the severance
packages went directly into the bank
accounts of beneficiaries, the gratuity
was paid to their pension fund
custodians.
He added that the documents of
additional 605 workers, who were
validated on Tuesday, had been sent for
payment.
The permanent secretary, however, said
the government currently had issues
with some workers, whose biometric
data were corrupted.
He said those under this category, 1,478
workers from the Enugu Distribution
Company and 929 others nationwide
would be invited to Abuja for
recapturing.
Igali said the government also had
issues with another 1,000 workers who
had been cleared but had cases of
duplication of names and account
numbers, while describing as bad cases
those of 2,500 whom he said had no
record that they were PHCN workers
probably because they were casual
workers.
However, the NUEE directed the
workers to withdraw their services if the
government eventually went ahead with
the handover of the PHCN subsidiary
companies to private investors on
Friday.
The Secretary General, NUEE, Mr. Joe
Ajaero, in a statement on Wednesday,
said outstanding labour issues had yet to
be resolved by the Federal
Government; adding that the plan to
hand over the power assets negated the
agreement it reached with the union.
“By this statement, we urge all workers
of PHCN to withdraw their services from
any unit in the event of further
provocation by armed military personnel
desperate to take over PHCN
installations. This is to avoid
confrontations with the troops from
November 1, 2013,” he said.
Ajaero noted that the gratuity payment
was only 68 per cent completed, adding
that no member of staff has had their
pension contributions transferred into
their Retirement Savings Accounts.
He said, “Those that retired from service
since 2011 have not received their
benefits totalling about N19bn. The
differences of the shortfall of the
terminal benefits from June 30, 2012 till
date have not been considered for
payment.
“The biometrically captured and
considered casuals’ appointment has not
been addressed. The question of 10 per
cent equity shareholding (in the
companies) by the workers as
statutorily provided has not been given
attention.
“While we appreciate and sympathise
with the core investors, we ask for their
understanding and that of the Nigerian
public in our pursuit to ensure a
seamless transition. We are resolute on
receiving every kobo owed us as we are
sure such liabilities will not be borne by
the new investors unless there is a
commitment to that effect from them.”
The President-General, Senior Staff
Association of Electricity and Allied
Companies, Mr. Bede Opara, stated that
although all government agencies
concerned in the process had made
tremendous efforts at settling the
workers, what was remaining was the
payment of the employees’ pensions.
He stated that the workers would not
have been interested in embarking on a
strike, but maintained that the
handover of the firms would not be fair
if all issues were not amicably resolved.
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