President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday in Lagos announced the full privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for effective power distribution.
Jonathan made the announcement while unveiling his road map for the reforms of the power sector.
He urged PHCN members of staff to see the new development as in the best interest of the nation, adding that many of them would form the nucleus of the new companies.
The President said that the Federal Government would hands off from the generation and distribution of electricity.
“Government will encourage private participation in these areas. The private sector will be responsible for the generation and distribution,” Jonathan said.
According to him, Federal Government will still own the transmission grids throughout the country but will be managed by the private sector.
He said that his administration would soon commission independent power producers, international oil companies and other companies to generate electricity.
Jonathan said that the selected companies must have the capacity to produce at least 5,000MW.
The President explained that the plants were expected to begin production in 2012, saying that government would provide them with credit financing to build the power plants.
He expressed the hope that within the next three years, power plants would be built in Gombe, Kogi, Enugu and Benue.
He said that government would buy the electricity produced by the private firms and sell to the distribution companies.
Jonathan stated that government had reconstituted the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, adding that list of members would be sent to the National Assembly on Monday.
“I also took part to select the chairman and he has the same pedestal with INEC chairman. We decided to do so because we need a revolution in the power sector,” he declared.
Commenting on the nation’s energy tariff, the President said that it was the lowest in West African sub-region, adding that it would be raised.
He, however, assured Nigerians that the new tariff would not be too exorbitant beyond what an ordinary consumer could afford.
Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke attributed the increase in the demand for natural gas to the growth in thermal plants.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi who was represented by Dr Kingsley Moghalu, said more than N300 billion had been approved by the apex bank as power intervention fund.
He said the bank had also approved investment of more than N500 billion Debenture stock to be disbursed by the Bank of Industry to fast-track government programmes on power.
News Agency of Nigeria
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We Nigerians will continue to make mistake because we do not learn from our past. We will regret of losing the opportunity of allowing iBB to restructure our political makeup. PDP will eventually become a party that will rule Nigeria for ever as OBJ said. A country like Nigeria does not need one party system. IBB is the only one among the Nigerian politicians who is addressing issues that are affecting the country.
1. Brain drain: He is speaking for all Nigerians abroad as the life wire of Nigeria to be allow to come back home. He will use the best set of Nigeria to run Nigeria. In fact he was the one that made it possible for all Nigerians abroad to come back home and run for office.
2. “Option A4” He set a political agenda that would have eradicated tribal polities in Nigeria. The Nigerian politicians at the time want 5 parties but he came up with two parties and built secretariat for the two parties in every local government. 7 Ibo men won local government chairmanships and 10 Yoruba men in the North, and Hausa man defeated a Yoruba man in Ogun state to become a senator. The system short downs all the political dead weeds who are running around now as Political God Father of Nigeria. Under the system your local government must endorse you before you can run for office to encourage grassroots development. People like OBJ would not become a president who set us up for political failure now.
3. IBB is the only leader that cannot be controlled by any God father either within the county or abroad.
4. IBB is the only political leader right now talking about issues that are the fundamental problem of Nigeria. 1. Education, Security, Sustainable Job and Brain Drain. Other are not saying anything at all they rely on promotion by the thieves who will render Nigeria completely broke and useless. Nigeria supposes to be a democratic nation where people vote for their leaders not selected by some people. OBJ has ruined us. YarAdua issue almost set the country on fire. God bless my people who manage to get through the mess with international humiliation.
It is time for Nigerians not to repeat the same mistake we made about Awolowo. We will all hang on issues that are not national issues in making decision on who will rule Nigeria.
Anyone who votes or advocates for IBB has either clearly lost their mind or is on his payroll. How can you vote for someone who in the years that he ruled helped run the country to the ground? He had his chance and he blew it. We need new blood. Please IBB move aside.