When in the mid-80s the Babangida administration embarked on a policy of commercialization, and later privatization, of public enterprises, it gave reasons which even today remain valid.The public corporations had become a drain on government resources, gulping billions, even trillions of Naira, without results. Public servants appointed to manage the corporations turned them into personal goldmines while the services they were supposed to offer to the public remained epileptic at best or did not exist at all.
Since the Babangida administration came to an end in the early 90s, each successive government has kept faith with the policy. Unfortunately, no government has made a success out of it, be it the Abacha regime or the Obasanjo and laterYar’adua governments, or even the present Goodluck Jonathan administration.
Bureau of Public Enterprises has sold power distribution companies that emerged from the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to some “successful bidders”. But the results of the bids have been greeted with public anger and scorn. The reasons for public anger are not far-fetched. The winners of the bids are corporate organizations allegedly promoted by familiar former and present public officers.
On the winning list are Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company Limited, Interstate Electronics, Aura Energy Limited, Vigeo Power Construction, Sahelian Power SPV and 4Power Consortium. Between them, these companies have taken control of power installations in Yola, Ibadan, Eko, Ikeja, Port Harcourt, Jos, Abuja etc.
Those who disagree with these sales, including staff of PHCN, argue that it is morally wrong to reward those who brought NEPA, the predecessor to PHCN, to its knees through corruption and incompetence. Indeed, it has been pointed out that PHCN assets including over 400 buildings and undeveloped properties in Lagos, Abuja and other cities, thousands of plants, turbines, transformers, vehicles and millions of electric poles worth over N5 trillion, have been sold to investors of questionable credibility at the paltry sum of N200 billion.
Like the previous privatization exercises which led to the crippling of such highly viable public enterprises like NITEL, NICON, the Daily Times etc., this particular exercise carries with it some ill wind.We agree with critics of the exercise that the whole thing was a race in the dark with little or no transparency. It will be a great disservice to this country if the power sector is crippled the same way NITEL was killed in the name of privatization.
We call on those involved in this exercise to have a rethink for the love of our father land.
