By Sunday
Onyemaechi Eze
After the razzmatazz that accompanied the privatisation of the power sector in
2013, we have awaken to the obvious fact that the nation was manipulated and
misled by a few to believe that the best that could have happened to the sector
was to auction it. The bogus claim by these then power brokers that
privatisation provides every answer to the abysmal power supply situation in
the nation has also awfully failed to provide the desired results. The wool
placed over the eyes of Nigerians is gradually fallen off as many prominent
Nigerians have once again found their lost voices and picked up the guts to
constructively criticise the privatisation of the power sector.
A fiery social critic, human right activist and Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, Senator Shehu Sani has despite
the seeming conspiracy of silence amongst the elites lent his voice to this
horrible performance and failure of the post privatisation of the power sector.
In his words which summed up the general feelings of Nigerian he said, Power
supply has dropped to an unprecedented and embarrassing low level. We are in a
state of power paralysis. It’s ironic that high electricity tariff has only led
to low electricity supply. Our DISCOs are now distributing darkness. After the
privatisation of PHCN, we thought there will be light at the end of the tunnel,
but we only transited from the darkness of the tunnel to that of a cave.
Private power investors moved Nigeria
Also in line with the mood of the nation, the House of Representatives
has mandated its Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation to
investigate the investments and pledges made by power Distribution Companies
(DISCOs) and Generation Companies (GENCOs). The House also directed the
Committee to ascertain the revenue accrued to the companies and their level of
compliance with the privatisation agreements. This followed a motion by Rep.
Muktar Dandutse which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote.
Dandutse expressed concern over the prevailing situation after the takeover of
privatised Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) by the successor companies.
He lamented among others that DISCOs “particularly charged arbitrary bills, not minding whether there was
outage or not.” The lawmaker said there had not been new investments by
DISCOs and GENCOs. He added that “transformers,
fallen electricity poles, prepaid metres and other basic infrastructure are
still being replaced or provided by states, local governments, communities and
individuals. Customers are being charged flat rates, which is unjustifiable in
this austere period, a situation that is causing untold hardships to the
people. He said that the money spent on such infrastructure by communities and
individuals could have been used to service other needs.” The House also
urged Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing to
collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure immediate amelioration of the
hardships being experienced by the people.
