Nigerian Newspapers
Still more hurdles to cross
The prospect of an early completion of the privatization of the power sector is increasingly becoming dim. The Federal Government dithers in meeting the conditions precedent in the privatization agreement just as the preferred bidders for the generating and distribution companies threaten to hold back their funds until all outstanding liabilities are settled. Will the exercise coast to a save end or will it remained jinxed?
The ten preferred bidders for the Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs and the fi ve generation companies, GENCOs are expected to pay the outstanding 75 per cent of the bid price by Wednesday, August 21, in an exercise that is meant to wrap up the privatization of the troubled power sector. However, there are strong indications that the end to the long battle to free the sector from government and its attendant ineffi ciency and corruption may not come soon.
Last week, the DISCOs, ten of them, sounded it loud and clear that they would not pay the outstanding balance of 75 per cent of the bid price unless and until the Federal Government settles all liabilities due to the employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN and fulfi ll all other conditions precedent in the privatization agreement.
The preferred bidders for the Discos as approved by the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, include Kann Consortium for the Abuja Successor Company at $ 164 million, Vigeo Power Consortium for Benin at $ 129 million, West Power &Gas for Eko at $ 135 million, Interstate Electrics Ltd for Enugu at $ 126 million, Integrated Energy for Ibadan at $ 169 million, NEDC/ KEPCO for Ikeja at $ 131 million, Aura Energy Ltd for Jos at $ 82 million, Sahelian Power SPV Ltd for Kano at $ 137 million, 4Power Consortium for Port Harcourt at $ 124 million and Integrated Energy Distribution & marketing for Yola at $ 59 million.
The generation companies, Gencos, fi ve of them are Amperion for Geregu Plant at $ 132 million, Mainstream for Kainji Plant at $ 50.76 million plus commencement fee of $ 237,870,000, North-South for Shiroro Plant at $ 23.60 million plus commencement fee of $ 111 million, Transcorp/ Woodrolck for Ughelli Plant at $ 300 million and CMEC/ Eurafric for Sapele Plant at $ 201 million.
Under the privatization agreement, the preferred bidders had paid 25 per cent of the share purchase price within 15 business working days after signing the Sale and Purchase Agreements, as well as payment of the outstanding 75 per cent within 90 working days after the signing.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Ransome Owan, who spoke on behalf of the distribution companies during a roundtable with the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, stressed that one of the conditions precedent for the conclusion of the privatisation was that the DISCOs would be handed over free from all legacy liabilities.
“Our lenders are mindful of this and are reluctant to approve loans and condition drawdown. Therefore, it is vital for full payment obligations to the current PHCN employees be fi nalised by the long stop date of 21 August, 2013. Lenders expect evidence of these payments before we can draw down on funds to complete our payments,” he said.
Owan asked the government to conclude all labour issues and meet all conditions before August 21; release subsidy fund contained in the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) model for each of the distribution companies under new owners; fund the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) adequately; issue an extended fi ve to 10 years special tax holiday for electricity distribution akin to the telecoms start-up assistance to mitigate tariff increase and high cost; and extend the longstop date to September 21, 2013 to allow for the full satisfaction of all conditions by government.
“It is a condition precedent (CP) that the Discos would be handed over free from all legacy liabilities. Our lenders are mindful of this and are reluctant to approve loans and condition drawdown. Therefore, it is vital for full payment obligations to the current PHCN employees to be fi nalised by the longstop date of August 21, 2013. Lenders expect evidence of these payments before we can draw down on funds to complete our payments.
“The Transition Electricity Market (TEM) will herald the start of contractual arrangements in the power sector and the automation of billing and metering operations of the market operator in line with the market rules. Three CPs remain thus: metering of the grid interface points; testing of the market operators’ settlement systems and process, and constitution of a Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP). Without the completion of the CPs, NERC cannot advise the Minister of Power to declare the start of TEM. In essence, the industry agreements (power purchase agreements, vesting contracts, and transmission network agreements), which underpin industry revenue, would be deemed illegal and a nullity until the minister makes the declaration. This government policy risk makes it very challenging for the capital markets inside and outside of Nigeria to support our efforts fi nancially,” he said.
On inadequate revenue to meet industry payments, he noted: “As of now, the Discos operate at a loss and buyers would quickly deploy their respective turn-business around plans. However… tariff, which guarantees a regulated return and covers all industry payments, is not yet producing the desired results due to systematic and structural problems. If distribution companies are unable to cover the cost of the energy delivered, then the bulk trader, transmission company and generation companies, will be adversely affected.”
The bidders are also asking government to subsidise the operations and grant them tax holidays to help cover anticipated losses due to certain “structural problems” that will prevent them from operating profi tably during the initial post-privatisation period.
Most analysts who spoke with Business Courage last week doubted if all the conditions truly set out in the Share Purchase Agreement would be met beore Wednesday when the bidders are expected to make the 75 per cent payment.
As at the weekend, the Ministry of Power has so far paid PHCN staff, starting with the N118bn to workers of the generating companies and PHCN headquarters, leaving out those in the DISCOs.
However, it appears that it is only Professor Nebo that is optimistic that the conditions would be met. He stated that though some of the conditions precedent were outstanding, government, he said, was working assiduously to make the sure that the conditions were fully met before the declaration of the TEM.
“I would like to share with you that the Federal Ministry of Power is fully aligned with your dream to light up Nigeria. We are not unaware of the challenges that are on the way. These issues raised we have been mulling for the past several weeks, especially with the issue of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
“We understand the challenges that you have raised and we realised we are all learning in this process. And because it is still in the infancy stage, we need to nurse the infancy to maturity and one of the things we need to do is to ensure that we present an enabling environment and where necessary, to inject the adrenaline needed by the preferred bidders to ensure that they realise their dream, which we are all hopeful with the reform agenda.
“We understand that you are supposed to inherit companies that are indeed free from all legacies liabilities and we are working on that. We also want to assure you that at the rate that these payments are being made to staff of the various PHCN successor companies that you are acquiring, by the end of this week almost all the GENCOs would have been paid, and then, we begin with the DISCOs.
Nebo said that there are obvious reasons why the government chose to settle the GENCOs and the PHCN headquarters and then move on the distribution companies. “With regard to the transition electricity market, three conditions precedent that you mentioned, metering of the grid, constitution of a dispute resolution panel receiving attention, be rest assured that we not oblivious of these things,” he said.
He said that government was already considering the need to call for a stakeholders’ meeting because of the nearness of the deadlines.
The minister said that approval had been given that part of the proceeds from the sale of the 10 National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) plants, about $ 1.6 billion, would be used to revamp the TCN and the transmission network and system.
He said the request for a new deadline date and tax holiday were issues that could only be considered by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) headed by the Vice President, as he however ruled out the release of subsidy funds to the new owners even before their take-off.
“With regard to adequate funding for TCN, from the very fi rst day I took over as Minister of Power, I started harping on the weak link of the entire sector being transmission. The President, the Vice President and the entire cabinet are deeply committed to ensuring that TCN is well funded.
“I want to assure you that TCN should not be a signifi cant worry to you. We are doing everything possible. As we know, part of the proceeds of the 10 NIPP Plants as much as $ 1.6 billion is being dedicated to improvements in funding of TCN to give us a very good, well-deserved transmission network in the country. That is being addressed already.
“I cannot address the issue of 5-10 years holiday. We are going to support you as you make demands for that. But I am not a taxman. We can only make our appeal based on the merit. We will do what we can. I can’t declare that I can extend August 21. The NCP will have to deliberate on that. What I can do is to play advocacy to ensure that you have at least the support of the ministry. But it is beyond my mandate. It will be communicated to the Vice President,” the minister said.
However, how far the issue will be addressed still remains a matter of conjecture. An industry expert who spoke on the issue at the weekend said that the government may not have a choice than to extend the August 21 deadline for the payment of the 75 per cent fi nal payment. “It’s obvious that the date can’t work. The DISCOs are already saying the banks would not be willing to make funds available for the transaction until they are convinced that all the conditions have been met and here we are, barely three days to the deadline, a large portion of the conditions are yet to be met,” he said.
The current process which started eight years ago, with the vision of reforming the power sector was legally backed with the enactment of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act that provided for the unbundling of the PHCN successor companies.
In 2011, when the privatisation exercise began, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had received 301 Expression of Interests (EOIs) and later short listed 207 fi rms that met the minimum qualifi cation standards set. Out of this number only 163 fi rms purchased bid documents from which the current preferred bidders emerged.
However, the exercise has been bedeviled with several glitches, most of which is labour related. At a time, when the organized labour grudgingly agreed to PHCN’s privatization, the debate shifted to the severance benefi ts for those whose services would be dispensed off with by the new owners.
The Labour had alleged that there was a shortfall in the computation of PHCN workers’ entitlements, shortly after the Federal Government announced the approval of N384 billion to offset the entitlements of employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The two unions in the sector had engaged government in a protracted negotiation over the ongoing reforms in the power sector and had resisted the handover of the subsidiary companies to private investors only after all labour issues have been resolved.
General Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, had in a statement said Alexander Forbes and the BPE had discovered and accepted fundamental errors in the data used for their computation in the course of the Committee’s discussion and had agreed to reconvene at a later date to address the errors. “It is amazing that fi gures can be conjured to calculate the exit benefi ts without reference to the technical Committee. The N384 billion is laughable because government is aware that one third of the staff population is excluded, and majority of those captured had their entitlements calculated based on two grades lower than their actual grades,” he said.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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