Government moves to sell 216 electricity assets

There is a move to sell over 216 non- core electricity assets of the Federal Government to address some of the challenges in the power sector. The plan became public knowledge yesterday as the Senate insisted that reversal of the sector’s privatisation would worsen the challenges bedeviling the sector, cripple economic activities and affect Nigeria’s image at the international community.

The Senate and the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) are targeting the sale of the affected assets scattered across the country. It was learnt that some private companies are still holding on to the assets that were previously operated by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Gabriel Suswam, who spoke during a visit to some of the assets currently being used by Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), said there was need to recover them. Suswam, who stated that the privatisation of the sector was faulty, said the lawmakers had identified some challenges affecting the sector.

According to him, the essence of the privatisation of the sector is to address inefficiency, but the situation persisted following misalignment in the sector.Managing Director of NELMCO, Adebayo Fagbemi, who said the assets, which include landed properties and buildings, would be sold in batches,
added that 52 of them had been advertised for sale.

According to Fagbemi, the disposal of the assets would enable the Federal Government to manage the liabilities in the sector.On the total value of the assets, Fagbemi said the agency had advertised for valuers, insisting that the government was aiming at the highest value.

“In the first phase, 52 of the assets were out for sale. The second batch that we are working on now is for about 106. Then there will be a third batch of about 58. So when you add 52 to 58 and 106, it will give you the total stock of assets that were transferred to us,” he said.