No plan to sell TCN – Ministry of Power
Oredola Adeola
The Nigerian Government has debunked the statement suggesting a plan to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN). Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, Ministry of Power, in a statement obtained by EnergyDay on Wednesday, urged the public to dismiss the allegation, describing it as false and an attempt by some people to spread panic in the power sector.
The Minister in a statement signed by Malam Isa Sanusi, his Special Adviser(SA) Media, in response to the speculations, claimed that some of the media reports published on the matter, falsely claimed that the said privatisation is going to take place in the coming months.
He said, “These reporters are untrue and are only sending misinformation aimed at spreading panic in the power sector which is already making progress towards ensuring that Nigerians enjoy uninterrupted power supply.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has no intent to sell or privatise the TCN and no one( among the officials of the Ministry and Presidency) has made a statement of intent to sell TCN.
“The TCN is a centerpiece in the Federal Government of Nigeria’s efforts to rejuvenate the power sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Power working with key stakeholders is continuing to evaluate, assess, and upgrade TCN to make it more efficient and transparent
“As part of the repositioning of the TCN, job opportunities are being created as with the recently concluded ramp-up of employment, contrary to claims that there is a plan for a mass disengagement of staff of TCN.
“The organisation has also been carrying out sustained capacity building by training and retraining staff across all cadres for efficiency and service delivery.
The SA Media to the Power Minister further revealed that transmission is a vital segment of the electricity value chain that constantly needs significant investment.
“Based on the best practice across the world, the Nigerian Government maintains the transmission segment of the power value chain, even when other segments have been privatised.
“Currently, the government is investing and supporting efforts to make TCN a world-class transmission service provider. The FG under the leadership of President Buhari focuses on upgrading, stabilising, and modernizing Nigeria’s power industry through various interventions including the Nigeria- Siemen partnership under the Presidential Power Initiative(PPI),” the statement from the Ministry noted.
The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, had earlier in a similar statement denied media reports alleging the plan by the FG to sell TCN.
