Mohammed Shosanya
Nigeria’s Vice President,Prof.Yemi Osinbajo,has commended Transnational Corporation Plc for investing in the country’s power sector.
He gave the commendation when he commissioned Transafam Power – a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc’s 240MW Afam Three Fast Power plant in Afam, Rivers State.
“Afam Three Fast Power is an important part of the evolving story of Nigeria’s aspirations to bring electricity to millions in their homes, factories and businesses that provide their livelihoods. It brings into view the importance of private capital in building up capacity along the power value chain.” The Vice President said.
He said a major weakness of our privatisation process has been inadequacy of private investments and new cash injections.
He added:”But the tide is turning with indigenous power and private investors such as Transcorp Power and Heirs Holdings, making significant investments such as the 100% acquisition of the 966MW installed capacity in Afam Plc and Afam III fast power Limited jointly referred to as Afam Genco”
Speaking,the Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu applauded Transcorp Group for its positive contributions to improving electricity generation in Nigeria.
“What we are celebrating today is an exemplar of the best of Public-Private partnerships. This collaboration has ensured that we are commissioning Afam Three Fast Power today, with a capacity to inject an additional 240MW of electricity into the National grid.”
“At full capacity, it will no doubt provide about 40% of our generated energy today. This is commendable and will certainly improve electricity supply to the nation along with growth of our economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”, Engr. Abubakar said.
The Chairman of Transcorp Group, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, during the ceremony said that “We all know the importance of power in Nigeria. We all experience the consequences of our power deficit – the implications for our people, our businesses, our schools, hospitals, and institutions – our national destiny. Transcorp Group is a key player in the power sector. We recognise power is the single most critical factor to lifting our people out of poverty and enabling job creation.
Therefore, I am so proud today, that we have been able to bring together so many key stakeholders. He concluded his speech with the commitment to continue to do well and do good. “We will not rest until we know every Nigerian has access to the power and the fruits of that power, which we know can transform our country.
We are fulfilling our promises to the Government and demonstrating Transcorp’s purpose of “Improving Lives and Transforming Africa”.
The Director General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh,said the projects will improve access to electricity in Nigeria.
He said “Afam Three fast Power combined with the adjoining Afam Power Plc, will in the next few years add almost 1,000MW of electricity to the national grid. This will go a long way towards reducing the current power deficit while enhancing access to electricity for millions of private and corporate Nigerians, creating jobs, and ensuring the socio-economic development and well-being of the nation.”
The successful commissioning of the Afam Three Fast Power turbines is a testament to the Transcorp Group’s commitment to providing reliable and sustainable power to Nigerians. The commissioning took place shortly after the second anniversary of Transafam Power’s operational takeover of the Afam Power Asset.
Earlier in the week,Transcorp Power Limited, was presented with a post-privatisation discharge certificate by the Federal Government of Nigeria, following fulfilment of all privatization conditions.
The discharge certificate was presented at the meeting of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of NCP, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, Group Chairman, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), owner of Transcorp Power.
Osinbajo said: “Post privatisation monitoring is an important aspect of Federal Government’s privatisation programme. Transcorp Power has been able to ensure compliance and surpassed expectations with all post privatisation deliverables. I commend Tony Elumelu and his Transcorp team for this feat. I urge Transcorp Group to continue in that path and even do better. Speaking further, the VP said.
The Group Chairman, Transcorp, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, thanked the Federal Government for their trust and confident in Transcorp,adding that:“in addition to fulfilling the post privatisation performance criteria, Transcorp has driven a strong indigenous agenda – our plants are managed and fully operated by Nigerians, creating jobs and reducing unemployment in the country. Safety is very important to us as well, since we began operations in 2013, we have recorded zero incident till date”. Continuing he said, At Transcorp Group, we do well and do good. We have grown together with our Host communities, enriching lives, and improving the community”
