Power investors jittery over new govt

A power station

There is anxiety among private investors who bought the successor electricity generation and distribution companies unbundled from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, following the emergence of Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) as president-elect.

The Federal Government had, on November 1, 2013, handed over 17 power firms to private investors in a bid to reverse the dwindling fortunes of the power sector.

The investors, according to an industry source who partook in the privatisation process, are now concerned that the Buhari-led government may upturn the privatisation exercise carried out by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Comments

Sotin: One thing that is sure about the Buhari administration is that it is not going to be business as usual. Given the amount of money we have spent on the energy sector, even if we had to import electricity, our condition would be better. The government cannot state precisely how much it has spent in the energy sector.

Doublee Dee: The challenge is having incompetent people running a very critical aspect of our economy – the power sector. This is why we have been in darkness in the past 50 years. Nothing in Nigeria follows global best practices. Kenya carried out an extensive reform of its power sector involving renowned international firms such as Manitoba and General Electric without any hiccups. In Nigeria, the same project was fraught with controversies and abuse that it culminated in the forced exit of the former Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji; and Chairman of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Alhaji Hamman Tukur.

Juungle: The owners of all the DISCOs and GENSCOs are around laughing. They are the faces of what is wrong with Nigeria. If Buhari will survive, he has to play fair with them. The same people are the ones milking the oil and gas. The government must go after them with a ruthless approach. They should be crushed for the Nigerian economy to survive; otherwise, the story will continue.

Emals Emals & Ecnerolf Academy: Privatisation remains the only way out. Some sections of the country may not like it because they can no longer use it to siphone public funds. Only the short-sighted will advocate the return of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and the pre-privatsation era.

Aj: What we need is solution, not unproductive argument. We should not forget that reliable power will make a lot of difference in the economy. May God help Buhari to correct what has gone wrong in the power sector!

Nwa_Africa: Nigeria is the only country where people pay for electricity they have not consumed. If we have power for 24 hours a day, I am sure Nigerians will pay extra tax.

Sunny: Generators are meant to be used by factory operators, picnic and mobile vendors. But in Nigeria, that is what every household now uses. People use them in individual homes with all the fumes and noise, causing environmental hazards.

Moments: The talk about power stability in Nigeria may never stop unless something is done about the mafias that are feasting on the sector. Generator companies must have their importation licences revoked. Otherwise, no amount of money spent on the sector will yield results; the mafia in the generator industry will continue to frustrate efforts taken to revive the sector.