Reps Move Against Privatization Of NDPHC
The House of Representatives has implored the Federal Government to stop arrangements to privatizethe Niger Delta Power Holding Company(NDPHC)
The House directed the committees on power and Privatization and Commercialization to investigate the planned sale of the NIPP power plants of the NDPHC and report back to it within four(4) weeks for further legislative action.
The resolutions suspending the planned sale of NIPP was sequel to the adoption of a motion under matter of urgent public importance brought by Hon. Kayode Musbau (APC, Lagos), wherein he drew attention to the danger of selling off the remaining national assets in the power sector, when the distribution companies so privatised have not lived up to expectations.
Besides,the lead committee on power has invited the boss of the Bureau for Public Enterprise, BPE to appear before the joint committee for an investigative hearing.
Presenting the motion,Hon.Musbau noted that the Niger Deita Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is a public asset that can’t just be sold off without proper explanations as to the benefits of such privatization after expending tax payers money to establish them.
He said:”In 2005, the National Council of State and the National Assembly approved an initial funding of US$25 billion for NIPP from the Excess Crude Oil Account (ECOA) which statutorily belongs to the Federal, State and Local governments.The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) is the legal vehicle vested to manage the NIPP for its shareholders — the Federal, State and Local governments.
“In 2013, the Federal Government announced the proposed privatization of some NiPP power plants which are owned by the NDPHC, with a plan to reinvest the proceeds from the company in developing renewable power generation projects, however myriad of challenges that bedeviled the power sector mitigated against the effort.In April 2021, the Board of Directors of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) agreed to resolve all issues mitigating against the sale of the assets and considered a special budgetary intervention of One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000) for improved offtake of the sate of NDPHC’s stranded power;
“The Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) recently announced the proposed sale of five (5) NIPP assets in Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Ogun and Kogi States with the aim of using the proceeds to fund the Federal Government budget-deficit.The assets under consideration do not belong exclusively to the Federal Government but the three tiers of government.
He expressed concerns that the Joint Transaction Board (JTB), which was created to handle the sale of NIPP power plants, did not approve the sale of five power plants, wondering why the BPE is hell vent on going ahead with the sale.
“The BPE, being a statutory body, can only act in accordance with its enabling legislation, the Privatisation Act, and considering that State Governments assets can only be disposed of in accordance to State law, the State Governments cannot validly accede to the application of Federal Legislation to the divestment of their ownership interest in the NIPP assets,” the lawmaker added.
