[size=18pt]Saboteurs trying to derail power sector reforms — Nnaji[/size]

By Martin Ayankola and Sunday Ojeme

Sunday, 7 Nov 2010


Special Adviser to the President on Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has said that some people benefiting from the rot in the power sector are fighting hard to derail the implementation of the Federal Government‘s power sector road map.

He identified the alleged saboteurs as some Power Holding Company of Nigeria workers, electrical contractors and importers of generators.

He said,” Think of it this way, the headquarters of corruption is with electricity distribution sector because you cannot have a transformer easily. For instance, the distribution companies in the last five years have not been audited. So by privatising them, you wipe out corruption there.

”Only for a period will the government be involved in the purchase of power. With time there will be a direct arrangement for purchase of power through bilateral agreement. So corruption is going to be drastically reduced there. Some people are not happy about it. Now they are fighting back to ensure that all manner of contracts don‘t go. Not to talk of those profiting from Nigerians who are using generators.”

Nnaji who spoke exclusively to SUNDAY PUNCH also said the leadership of the electricity unions fighting the Federal Government reform was doing so for selfish reasons.

He said, ”Let us look at the structure of the union. There are two units, the junior staff and the senior staff. The ones that are always at the forefront are the junior staff, the National Union of Electricity Workers. The secretary-general of the union, from what I understand, is not a worker of PHCN.

”They receive pay according to how many workers that they have. So one can only imagine that privatisation or anything that tampers with the status quo is going to be a problem for such people.”

Throwing more light on the issue, Nnaji said, ”One of the requests of the union is that the casual workers, about 10,000 of them, should be included in the workforce. So you can now relate what we are saying to that request. Government has a law about how to treat casual workers. It is actually mischief that is leading to this.”

He added, ”This government did something that has not been done in seven years. For seven years, the workers of PHCN had been owed their arrears, and this government within a short time of its life, took the decision, found money to pay the arrears. How is that not taking care of the workers? Let me also say that anybody, worker or no worker; union or no union, that is saying that the status quo should remain in this country does not mean well for this country.

”The Federal Government power plants generate approximately 2,400MW, the private sector power plants generate the rest to make up 3,500MW. So, somebody telling you that is what we should stay with and remain in darkness in Nigeria does not mean well for Nigeria after 50 years of independence. It is extreme selfishness.”

Reacting to this, the Secretary- General, National Union of Electricity Employees, Joe Ajaero, accused Nnaji of conflict of interest and selfishness.

He said in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, ”Nnaji has a private company, known as Geometric Power Limited, which can only start business if privatisation is implemented. They claim that they have exclusive rights, so they want to use privatisation to achieve their own selfish interest. The money the government paid[monetisation arrears] was owed by the same government, so why should we thank them for paying us?”

On casual workers, Ajaero said, ”PHCN is a government- owned company. It is against the labour law to keep someone for over six months without confirming their appointment. Some of them have worked for 10 years without pension, some of them are earning N10,000 a month, and they have wives and children.

”Before Nnaji was appointed in 2008, we had concluded the whole exercise. There was a verification exercise, thereafter, the employees were about to receive their letters when Nnaji came and stopped the process. It is not that they were just employed.”

President Goodluck Jonathan, had on August 26, in Lagos, unveiled the road map for the nation‘s power sector reform.

In the initiative, the country is targeting 14,000 megawatts power generation by 2013 and 40,000MW by 2020.

Nigeria currently generates an average of 3,500MW against a demand in excess of 25,000MW.

”Self-generation of electricity (from diesel and petrol generators) is conservatively estimated at a minimum of 6,000 MW i.e. more than twice the average output from the grid during 2009,” the road map stated.

Nigeria‘s average per capita energy consumption is just 129 kilowatt hours compared to 239kWh in Ghana, 491kWh in India and 12,607kWh in the United States, according to government estimates.

Brazil has 100,000 MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 201 million people, while South Africa also has 40,000MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 50 million people.

According to the road map, the Federal Government will sell 51 per cent of its stake in electricity distribution companies and thermal power stations to investors, while it will grant concession to private companies to run the three hydro- electric power stations.

However, the transmission grid would still be owned by government but managed by the private sector.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises has already invited bids for management contracts for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, but the sale of 51 per cent of government‘s stake in electricity distribution and generation companies could commence in December.

The 18 PHCN successor companies are Kainji Hydro Electric Plc, Shiroro Hydro Electric Plc, Jebba Hydro Electric Plc, Egbin Power Plc, Afam Power Plc, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc, Yola Electricity Distribution Plc , Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc.

Others are Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Plc, Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Sapele Power Plc and Delta Power Plc.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101107683189

The federal gov't should never have been in the business of distributing power anyway. Should have been privatized a long time ago. If it is in private hands, the owner will do everything in his power to ensure that there is always light. Otherwise it costs him money, makes his customers unhappy.

Problem with everything being run by a central gov't is that there is no accountability. Oh well, hopefully they'll get it right sometime soon. Fix the power supply so we can move back to Nigeria and start businesses there.

Also, what would be the quickest way to increase the generation of electricity? Are we connected to the Ghanaian grid, is it possible to purchase electricity from them?

Any insight/comments from someone in the industry who understands the technical issues deeply would be very welcome.

DapoBear:

Also, what would be the quickest way to increase the generation of electricity? Are we connected to the Ghanaian grid, is it possible to purchase electricity from them?

Any insight/comments from someone in the industry who understands the technical issues deeply would be very welcome.

Even though Ghana has stable electricity, we still produce more energy than them. So it would be impossible 4 them to supply us energy.

ogagusps3:

Even though Ghana has stable electricity, we still produce more energy than them. So it would be impossible 4 them to supply us energy.

No, they could sell us excess power if our grids are connected. Any little bit helps, buying electricity from them means less power outages.

But probably we just need to build more generators; the gap between supply and demand will be quite enormous even if we buy from them.

DapoBear:

No, they could sell us excess power if our grids are connected. Any little bit helps, buying electricity from them means less power outages.

But probably we just need to build more generators; the gap between supply and demand will be quite enormous even if we buy from them.

Nigeria is even supplying ghana with electricity.This is a damn shame.

What is Prof Nnaji actually saying? Is he telling us this so that we'll be aware of it or is it an excuse for us not to hold the FG responsible for our power issues? Are these saboteurs invisible and invinsible? Are they above the law? Damn it!

What is Prof Nnaji actually saying? Is he telling us this so that we'll be aware of it or is it an excuse for us not to hold the FG responsible for our power issues? Are these saboteurs invisible and invinsible? Are they above the law? Damn it!

@slap1,
how did u steal my mind? how do nigerians get their professorships? even an okada man can reason better than this so-called prof Nnaji. who are the saboteurs? were u and ur president not thinking about these saboteurs before declaring emergency in the power sector? is this emergency not taking eternity?
it is either Prof Nnaji and jonathan are not ready to work or they are out to decieve nigerians.
it is only in nigeria that companies are given contracts and are paid fully without executing the contracts and at the end of the day, the govt will call them saboteurs and that will end the story.
jonathan might be the best president in the world but he certainly does not have any quality of that messiah nigerians have been praying for.
jonathan will be most effective as the minister of information.
how can a president keep on giving out contracts and making payments without the contracts been executed? it was the same case when obj gave himself billions of naira worth of contracts and then N300B road reconstruction contract to tony annenih. annenih till date did not execute the contract for which he was paid and is not facing any charges by anybody rather he was made the chairman of nigerian ports authority.
abeg, make jonathan go ans seat down because he has no will power to be a local govt chairman talkless of a president.
saboteurs my foot.
shame to professorship in the nigerian interpretaions. how will i even feel if i am a professor in nigeria and see men like prof Nnaji and prof iwu as my counterparts? i will stop bearing that title.

”Only for a period will the government be involved in the purchase of power. With time there will be a direct arrangement for purchase of power through bilateral agreement. So corruption is going to be drastically reduced there. Some people are not happy about it. Now they are fighting back to ensure that all manner of contracts don‘t go. Not to talk of those profiting from Nigerians who are using generators.”

Nnaji who spoke exclusively to SUNDAY PUNCH also said the leadership of the electricity unions fighting the Federal Government reform was doing so for selfish reasons.

That says it all.

Is it not amazing how we thrash around vigorously yet never seem to move forward? Many Nigerians , even when very bright, continue to show amnesic ignorance of why things never worked well in our past as a nation with the way  they offer the same pathetically lame excuses even when the solution to our problems is[b] very obvious[/b].

Did the Yar Adua regime not make this same noise ? Did our former President and his hirelings not waste Nigeria's time and money telling us that the most powerful office in the land is at the mercy of various cabals who frustrate the agitations of Nigerians for adequate electricity, good roads , sufficient healthcare , etc , etc .

When will it become obvious to Nigerians that we don't need a Rocket Scientist as our President? When will we learn that , for now , we only need , as President, a[b] very resolute[/b] man/woman totally commited to ensuring that those who are corrupt and self-serving are not included in the search for solutions to Nigeria's[b] many[/b] woes ? What derailed the NIPP scheme under OBJ if not corruption? Ask Obasanjo today why the NIPP scheme failed to deliver even one megawatt and he will state the common excuse : "it is the work of those who do not want progress for Nigeria". Yet our former President will omit to mention that , in testimony to corruption and self-servitude,  his own daughter and cronies , despite knowing nada about power generation , won lucrative NIPP contracts !!!!!!!!

Does Nnaji not realise that miracles cannot be achieved by a government that will get in bed with corruption yet pretend it can bring the change Nigerians desire? Have we not had enough of weak and compromised Presidents who , even as they have the most powerful office in the land , continue to pretend they are powerless to improve the lot of Nigerians? Nigerians must understand that we need , above everything else , an ultra-tough and unflinchingly brave President who will know that no cabal is greater than his office enough to cower his commitment to delivering a better future for Nigerians.

Gbawe:

Is it not amazing how we thrash around vigorously yet never seem to move forward? Many Nigerians , even when very bright, continue to show amnesic ignorance of why things never worked well in our past as a nation with the way  they offer the same pathetically lame excuses even when the solution to our problems is[b] very obvious[/b].

Did the Yar Adua regime not make this same noise ? Did our former President and his hirelings not waste Nigeria's time and money telling us that the most powerful office in the land is at the mercy of various cabals who frustrate the agitations of Nigerians for adequate electricity, good roads , sufficient healthcare , etc , etc .

When will it become obvious to Nigerians that we don't need a Rocket Scientist as our President? When will we learn that , for now , we only need , as President, a[b] very resolute[/b] man/woman totally commited to ensuring that those who are corrupt and self-serving are not included in the search for solutions to Nigeria's[b] many[/b] woes ? What derailed the NIPP scheme under OBJ if not corruption? Ask Obasanjo today why the NIPP scheme failed to deliver even one megawatt and he will state the common excuse : "it is the work of those who do not want progress for Nigeria". Yet our former President will omit to mention that , in testimony to corruption and self-servitude,  his own daughter and cronies , despite knowing nada about power generation , won lucrative NIPP contracts !!!!!!!!

Does Nnaji not realise that miracles cannot be achieved by a government that will get in bed with corruption yet pretend it can bring the change Nigerians desire? Have we not had enough of weak and compromised Presidents who , even as they have the most powerful office in the land , continue to pretend they are powerless to improve the lot of Nigerians? Nigerians must understand that we need , above everything else , an ultra-tough and unflinchingly brave President who will know that no cabal is greater than his office enough to cower his commitment to delivering a better future for Nigerians.

In general I agree with your sentiment. But the way Nigeria is run makes no sense. Why is EVERYTHING done by the federal gov't? That is just a recipe for disaster. Everywhere in the world, gov't bearacracies are less efficient at doing their jobs than the private industry equivalent. Airlines in the US used to be gov't owned, they got privatized and the industry got stronger. AT&T was a giant quasi-governmental national communications monopoly, got broken up and privatized, and literally all parties (both the different components of AT&T, the investors, and consumers of telecom services) are better off.

Asking the question, "Why is the gov't not running this business properly?" is almost the wrong question to ask. The gov't shouldn't even be in the business of providing most of the services it provides. If you turn power over to a private business, will the business owner give out bad contracts that don't get filled? No, he will not, because the money is coming directly out of his pocket, not some nebulous government account.

This in a nutshell is the problem with Nigeria. People spend money that doesn't belong to them. If you are spending your own money, will you overpay for pounded yam? No, you look for the best price on high quality pounded yam you can find. You don't buy low quality pounded yam at terrible prices just to line the pockets of your friend who is the low quality pounded yam salesman.
There is no man on the face of the earth who knowingly lets his own hard-earned money be stolen or sabotaged. However, once you start spending money on the behalf of other people, corruption becomes easy. Let's reduce the temptation by privatizing as much as possible, imo.

Prof Barth Nnaji, nah wah for your reasoning.

” the headquarters of corruption is with electricity distribution sector because you cannot have a transformer easily. For instance, the distribution companies in the last five years have not been audited. So by privatising them, you wipe out corruption there." 

Does this mean corruption does not exist in the private sector? Privatisation does not guarantee efficiency or eliminate corruption. It merely allows the big boys and girls to own what should benefit everybody. Please refer to Halliburton & Siemens.

Can Prof tell us why $3.3 billion that was supposed to have been spent on power projects have yielded no results? Or why Ghana produces more electricity than Nigeria. By the way Electricity is NOT privatised in Ghana.

Were these junior workers he is now blaming responsible for awarding contracts to unregistered companies? or perhaps they were responsible for advancing 100% of funds for projects that were not even started.

Prof should stop insulting the intelligence of this nation. As for anybody standing in the way of government reforms we all know say that nah big lie, govt should deploy JTF and drive them to another country.

We have seen the devasting effects of one A S S (Acquired Sanusi Syndrome) in the banking sector, a repeat must be avoided in the power sector.

What we need is competition in the energy/power sector. Privatizing PHCN isn't enough because the pub and priv sector is corrupt.
I mean the situation in the banks (Ibru et al) shows privatization without strict govt regulation means nothing.
I do appreciate GEJ's initiative because it seems he wants change and the power situation really can't get worse in Nigeria.