AS privatisation of the 17 successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria enters its final stage, industry operators have complained about complacency on the part of workers in the power sector. In this report, TUNDE DODONDAWA examines reasons for this inaction and the implications on the nation’s economy. Excerpts:
NO country would experience economic growth without a functioning and reliable power sector. It has been said times and again by the experts that, for Nigeria to achieve Vision 20:2020 objective, it must get it right in the area of power, but events in the last few months have made experts to think otherwise.
This is because it has been observed that workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have become too complacent with their job in the past few months, a development that made some people to believe that the workers were actually working against the interest of the economy.
This might not be unconnected with the privatisation of the PHCN which is expected to be concluded in June this year once the irregularities in the labour issues are corrected.
This might not be unconnected with the privatisation of the PHCN which is expected to be concluded in June this year once the irregularities in the labour issues are corrected.
It was obvious at inception that local and foreign investors, who emerged as preferred bidders for the Generation Companies (GENCOs) and Distribution Companies (DISCOs), were excited when they realised that they would take over the ownership and management of the highly lucrative 15 successor PHCN companies.
The former Minister of Power, Bart Nnaji, did a lot to reposition the company before he left office. For example, he made sure that workers were on their toes, working tirelessly to address customers’ complaints and fix every problem ranging from transformer breakdown and replacement of faulty power lines. Nnaji’s directive then was that any problem identified must be fixed within 24 hours.
However, the case is different now, as some people say that the new Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, seems to have no clue about the operations of the Power Ministry.
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