BPE Says FG, Governors Agree To Sell 5 Power Plants

Governors of 36 states have reached an agreement with the Federal Government  to sell five power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects.

The proceeds from the sale are to be used to fund the 2023 budget.

The agreement is coming after over two years of disputes and legal tussles regarding the sale of the NIPP plants managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPH.

Alex Okoh, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, made this known in an interview with journalists.

He also disclosed that the United Bank for Africa, UBA, had secured a core investor to acquire a 60 per cent stake in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC. At the same time, efforts were ongoing to get competent investors to repossess the majority shares in the other four Discos that banks took over.

He added that the Federal Government was trying to restructure Nigeria’s healthcare delivery after the United Kingdom system and stated that there had been appreciable progress with the proposed sale of five NIPP power plants.

Okoh said, “The expectation (of BPE) in the fiscal plan for 2023 is N260bn, and the critical assets we are looking at are the power assets. Five of the NIPP plants; incidentally, we are reaching some understanding with the state governors for selling those five power plants.”

According to a report in April 2021, the National Council on Privatisation okayed the adoption of a fast-track strategy for the privatisation of the five power plants listed as Geregu, Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Calabar and Benin-Ihovbor.