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VINCENT Onome Akpotaire, acting director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, has said that a situation where stakeholders in the Power Sector cherry pick sections of the Electric Power Sector Reform, EPSR, Act which suit their purpose to comply with; and disregard the other aspects of the Act was the major reason the sector was facing crisis.

Akpotaire who stated this when he led a BPE team which accompanied members of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation on oversight visit to the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED, on Wednesday, February 15, 2017, therefore, called on all the stakeholders to adhere strictly to all sections of the Act to move the sector forward.

He said that power generation was at its lowest in the country today not because of privatisation of the generation companies as being erroneously canvassed in certain quarters, but that the crisis in the sector is caused by socio-economic issues which the National Assembly must address urgently.

The BPE Acting Director-General noted that gas pricing was a major issue in the electricity distribution chain as most of the generating plants in the country were gas fired and the price of gas indexed on the US dollar while collection was in Naira. According to him, the situation has created a gap in liquidity due to the current price of the USD.

He maintained that the Bureau and all stakeholders; including the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, and the National Assembly had the capacity to change the scenario but that a lot depended on the National Assembly to ensure that  the EPSR Act  was adhered to.

Receiving the lawmakers and the BPE team, Tukur Modibbo, managing director of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED, expressed optimism that things would improve in the sector and said that constant interaction with relevant stakeholders in the sector would provide a clearer understanding of issues.

Modibbo said that the interaction with the lawmakers would guide their decisions in charting a way out from the current crisis that has bedeviled the sector.

He commended the Acting Director General of the BPE for the positive role the Bureau was playing to ensure a turnaround for the sector. The MD appealed for the review of gas pricing in dollar as it was at present affecting the DISCOs’ inability to meet their obligations.

Yerima Ahmed, chairman of the House Committee on Privatisation, who was represented by Olatunde Gabriel Kolawole  while commending the JEDC for its achievements so far, said  that the House of Representatives was not unaware of the challenges the DISCOs across the country were facing.

He said that the objective of the power privatization is for efficient and effective power delivery to consumers which is one of the Key Performance Indices of the DISCO in the Performance Agreement entered into with the Federal Government.

The House Committee members and the BPE team also visited the Jos Steel Rolling Mill (JSRM) now, Zuma Steel West Africa where Akpotaire frowned at the inability of the new investors to produce the Short-term, medium-term and long-term plan to turn around the enterprise.

Some members of the host community who were present during the visit, expressed displeasure over the inability of the Zuma Steel West Africa to turn around the fortunes of the company since take over. They said the premises had become a hideout for criminals in the area.

—  Feb 20, 2017 @ 17:35 GMT

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