The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, emphasized the necessity for significant private sector investment in the country’s power sector in order to meet the growing energy demands, News About Nigeria reports.
Osinbajo made these remarks while presenting a discharge certificate to Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited, which is the core investor in the Ughelli Power Plant.
The approval for the delisting of Ughelli Power Plc from routine monitoring was granted by the National Council on Privatisation, one month prior, after endorsing the recommendations put forth by the Bureau of Public Enterprise.
This delisting was granted due to the fulfillment of five crucial post-acquisition requirements: available capacity, capital expenditure, human resources, health, safety, environment, and corporate social responsibility.
Originally commissioned in 1966 with an installed capacity of 972 megawatts (MW), the Ughelli Power Plant’s capacity had dropped to 300 MW.
However, in 2013, it became a subsidiary of Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited under the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc.
Alex Okoh, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, disclosed that post-acquisition monitoring and evaluation had been carried out on the Ughelli Power Plant since its acquisition a decade ago.
Addressing the situation at the State House in Abuja, the Vice President stressed the gravity of the country’s power needs.
He expressed his belief that privatization of the power sector is the appropriate approach, as it allows serious private-sector investors to contribute to the provision of public power while operating efficiently and generating profits simultaneously.
Encouraging other private sector entities to follow suit, the Vice President expressed hope for more power companies to take over plants that fail to meet post-evaluation expectations.
The Vice President described routine evaluation and monitoring as crucial components of the post-acquisition plan established by the Bureau of Public Enterprise.
He commended Transcorp Power PLC for exceeding the covenanted deliverables and encouraged them to continue their exceptional performance.
