Osinbajo: Private Sector Involvement Necessary for Nigeria to Achieve Power Sufficiency 

* Transcorp Power exits BPE’s supervision, monitoring list

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday reviewed the current power situation in the country and concluded that serious private sector participation is the only viable approach to solving Nigeria’s serious power crisis.  

This is just as Transcorp Power Plc was delisted from the routine evaluation and monitoring of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), marking a major achievement for the company.

The delisting ceremony, which took place at the vice-president’s office at the State House, Abuja, means Transcorp Power Plc had fulfilled the provisions in the Post-Acquisition Plan (PAP) by the BPE and will no longer be subject to any post-privatisation supervision.

Speaking at the occasion, Osinbajo, while expressing delight at Transcorp Plc’s achievement, stressed that: “The power needs of our country are grave and we strongly believe that the right approach is the privatization of the power sector to enable serious minded private sector players to invest in the provision of public power and ensure that they are efficient while they make profit at the same time.”

He highlighted the rarity of witnessing such a seamless process in the public sector, and also commended the BPE for its diligent monitoring and objective decision-making, acknowledging the importance of the routine evaluation and monitoring framework. 

The vice-president further applauded the management of Transcorp Power PLC, led by Tony Elumelu, for their exceptional performance in meeting and even surpassing the agreed-upon covenants and deliverables outlined in the Post Acquisition Plan (PAP). 

He urged the company to continue its commitment to excellence and encouraged other private power companies to follow suit.

According to him, “We hope that this will not be the last in the series of private power companies that are taking over power plants that are unable to meet the expectations of the post evaluation plans. Thank you very much and congratulations again to Mr. Tony Elumelu and his team.

“The routine evaluation and monitoring is, as we’ve heard already from the DG BPE, an important feature of the post-acquisition plan by the BPE and it has covenants and deliverables, which the enterprise is supposed to live up to and we found in this case that Transcorp Power PLC has done exactly that. They have been able to ensure compliance with all of the deliverables and in some cases even exceeding the covenanted deliverables in the PAP. 

“So this is both an opportunity to commend the management of Transcorp Power PLC, led by Tony Elumelu and members of the Transcorp Power team, and also to commend the BPE for doing an excellent job of monitoring and being able to come up with an objective not just a set of criteria, but also an objective means of deciding that we’re able today to delist the Transcorp Power Plc.”

Responding, the Chairman of the Transcorp Group, Elumelu, appreciated the federal government for the trust and confidence reposed in Transcorp Power Plc. 

He reiterated his company’s commitment to improving access to electricity in Nigeria and highlighted the importance of the power sector in driving the country’s economic growth.

Elumelu also pointed out that Transcorp Power Plc is committed to indigenization, with the power plant being managed and operated 100 per cent by Nigerians. 

According to him, safety standards were extremely high, with no incident recorded since 2013.

His words: “We at Transcorp Group recognize the importance of improved access to electricity. We know that with improved access to electricity, people can go to school, hospitals can function well, businesses can operate very well and most importantly can empower the industrialization of our country.

“This is why we invested in power and why we continue to invest in the power sector because we know it holds the key largely to the success of our country. 

“Mr. Vice-President, let me also say that in addition to the criteria set, we actually are doing a very strong Indigenization of Transcorp Power Plc. I’m proud to say that our power plant is managed and operated 100 per cent by Nigerians.”

Earlier in his address, the Director-General of BPE, Alex Okoh, explained that the presentation of the certificate of discharge to Transcorp Power Limited was in recognition of the achievement of the performance targets stipulated in the performance agreement entered into by the company and the federal government, represented by the BPE upon the privatisation of the power plant in 2013. 

He said: “Today’s event is in fulfillment of the Bureau’s promise made to the privatized enterprises who fully implement the agreed key performance benchmarks contained in the post-acquisition plan and the performance agreement. 

“Having exceeded the minimum performance targets and having fulfilled all the agreed obligations, the National Council on Privatization at its meeting on April 4, 2023 considered and approved the recommendations of the Bureau and its requests that the company, Ughelli Power PLC, be approved for  delisting from routine monitoring. 

“On behalf of the National Council on Privatization, the Bureau wishes to congratulate the board and management of Transcorp Power for the milestones achieved in turning around the operations of the power generation enterprise and we look forward to a sustained collaboration in improving the outcomes in the power sector.”