Nigeria has taken a giant step towards realising the much anticipated power sector reforms that would translate to stable electricity supply to citizens, President Goodluck Jonathan has said.
Jonathan made the statement at the official signing ceremony held by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) for successful bidders of the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Director General of BPE, Benjamin Dikki, speaking at the ceremony chaired by Minister of Power Professor, Chinedu Nebo, disclosed that the successful companies emerged from a long list of over 300 interested parties in a process that matched and exceeded international best practice.
“All the firms that went through this rigorous privatisation process and emerged as the preferred bidders should be congratulated. Nigerians can start to smile,” he said.
Also speaking, Tony Elumelu, chairman of Transcorp, which won the bid for the Ughelli Power Plant in the Delta, enthused that government had declared that there should be light and there would be.
“This is a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey to economic development and social wealth for all,” he added.
“It shows how the public and private sector can work together to solve the most pressing issue facing the country. The government has delivered on its promise to let the private sector in. All interests are now aligned and Nigerians will soon begin to feel the effects. This is Africapitalism in action.”
He further disclosed that Transcorp, as active investors with a track record of delivery in the turn-around of businesses, has already begun the process at Ughelli.
“We have our turn-around strategy in place, our US based partners Symbion Power and GE are on board, and within the next decade we will facilitate the generation of 10,000MW of additional power to Nigerian households.”
Representatives of winners of other bids who were at the event spoke in similar fashion, agreeing that a functional power sector will improve the country’s economy global competitiveness, foreign investment and availability of job opportunities.
