Governors grant approval to sell off five power plants

Mr. Alex Okoh, Director-General (DG), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), said in Abuja that the stage is set for the sale of five power plants.

Agreements  were reached by the federal government by the 36 governors on the proposed plan to sell-off the five National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).

The expected N260 billion proceeds from the sale will go into next year’s fiscal plan, the BPE boss told reporters.

Okoh said the bidding process for the plants could reach the final stage before the end of this year, with the pact coming after the governors’ initial opposition.

The five NIPPs being managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) belong to the federal, states and local governments.

They are located at Geregu, Ajaokuta (Kogi State); Omotoso (Ondo State); Olurunsogo (Ogun State); Calabar (Cross River State) and Ihovbor (Edo State).

Some analysts and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) have argued that others plants franchised to private investors for management have not significantly improved their performance.

But the BPE DG said privatization remained the best option for the five power plants that are redundant.

Okoh admonished that raking in revenue from non-functional assets should be preferable to borrowing that will compound the nation’s debt profile.

He noted that the Bureau has the mandate of raising revenue from idle government entities to boost the economy.

Okoh explained that the Federal Government would receive the statutory 47 per cent of the privatisatioin proceeds, while the balance of 53 per cent would be distributed among the states.

Okoh said his bureau was not involved in the fresh process to concession the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi State.

The DG noted that the process was being handled by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, but that BPE was involved in the resolution of the ownership issues

His words: “But I can say that we were involved in the resolution of the initial concessioning that went sour because one of the assets that was pledged under the Global Concession, the Warri Port, had actually been concessioned by the BPE.

“So, we were involved in negotiations with Global Infrastructure to take them out of Ajaokuta.  But the current concessioning process, I believe, is being handled by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.”

On health reform, Okoh explained that the health sector reform embarked upon in 2019 was receiving a boostm having engaged a consultant to do a diagnostic review on the health sector with the aim of ensuring the availability of health care for out-of-pocket expenses.

He said:  ”You notice that, at least, 80 per cent of the population is not covered by any form of health insurance. So, when they engage in any form of health care delivery, they have to pay directly from their pockets.

“As such, as we see in other climes, the government decided to take responsibility for providing health care across the citizens.

“We dimensioned the various segments of the health sector, from primary to tertiary. We found out that the major challenge is round funding. Although there are challenges around the administrative framework, the major problem is funding.

“So, the President set up the health reform committee, which is headed by the vice president and we looked at the health sector along specific themes. Incidentally, the committee met about three weeks ago and we have come up with what we called the great paper – a Concept Note. Essentially, the concept is on how to restructure the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.

“Apart from funding, we are looking at how to move administrative and decision-making powers to the institutions themselves, especially at the medical centres and the teaching hospitals, where healthcare is delivered.

“We are trying to reposition the healthcare delivery framework for Nigerians along the line of what you have in the NHIS in the United Kingdom (UK) where the public can consume healthcare delivery and the government, through various means, including insurance, would pay.”

(Nation)