The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved the Bureau of Public Enterprises’ (BPE) request to finalise engagements with Transcorp Power Consortium for the execution of Performance Agreements (PAs) on the sale of Afam Power Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited.
The decision seeks to regularise outstanding post-acquisition obligations and ensure the commercial viability of the power assets.
Chairman of the Council and Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, called for a shift in Nigeria’s privatisation approach, from merely selling state-owned enterprises to focusing on asset optimisation as a pathway to achieving the nation’s trillion-dollar economy target.
The approval followed a memo presented by BPE Director-General, Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, at the Council’s third meeting of the year, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Gbeleyi revealed that the Federal Government had completed the sale of the Afam Power assets, realising N53.9 billion in privatisation proceeds.
He added that while the assets had been fully handed over to Transcorp Power Consortium, the transaction structure was recently reviewed and revalidated.
He explained that executing the Performance Agreements, a key requirement in Nigeria’s power sector privatisation, would enable the BPE to begin post-privatisation monitoring of investor obligations, including capacity expansion and operational efficiency.
The DG also informed the Council that the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into two entities, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Transmission Service Provider (TSP), was successfully completed this year.
Before granting the approvals, Shettima emphasised the need for discipline and long-term vision in the privatisation process, describing the NCP as the economic compass steering national investment and policy direction.
“Our aspiration to build a trillion-dollar economy demands discipline, vision, and strict adherence to the economic compass produced by this Council. Without such discipline, our projections will remain theoretical,” he stated.
He urged the Council to focus on unlocking the value of Nigeria’s underutilised assets, including land, real estate, and intellectual property, through models such as long-term concessions, asset-backed securitisation, and investor partnerships tied to measurable performance benchmarks.
Shettima also called for transparency and integrity in all transactions to avoid costly litigations and reinforce investor confidence in Nigeria’s business environment.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, commended the BPE for its professionalism and urged continued adherence to global best practices.
Other participants at the meeting included the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso.
