Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Federal Government plans to develop a power sector that will steadily deliver quality service and sustain itself.
Osinbajo who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the signing ceremony of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreements for Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited., said with the successful acquisition of Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power, by the Transcorp Consortium was in line with that objective.
Osinbajo said, “The Buhari Administration’s goal is to eliminate challenges in the Power Sector by improving liquidity in the market through a host of measures, including the recently announced National Mass Metering Program and the transition to Service-Based Tariff. We need a power sector that can provide quality service to Nigerian consumers and sustain itself.”
The Minister of Power, Engr Saleh Mamman, officials from the BPE and Transcorp Consortium, were among those at the official signing ceremony.
The vice president described the event milestone in the continued efforts to accelerate reforms in the power sector.
“This investment by Transcorp in acquiring “Afam Power Plc” and “Afam Three Fast Power Limited” is the first of many new investments planned in the sector across the value chain from Generation to Distribution, ” he said.
Osinbajo who is the Chairman of the National Council for Privatisation, said that the entry of Transcorp Consortium in the poeer scheme would significantly improve the operational capacity of the plants.
“The Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited plants have a combined capacity of almost 1,000MW. The current usable (operational) capacity of 240MW from Afam III and about 100MW from Afam Plc speak to the opportunity that the Transcorp acquisition can bring. We expect that under Transcorp’s ownership the operational capacity of the facility will be raised to its full capacity,” he said. .
“We have seen the progress that Transcorp has made with the Ughelli Power Plant in raising the operational capacity significantly (since it acquired the plant in 2013) and we expect nothing less from the Afam acquisitions.”
Osinbajo explained that “the Afam cluster houses multiple power plants outside of those being acquired by Transcorp (including those owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company and Sahara Energy) and is an energy hub for the country.”
“We have no doubt that the addition of Transcorp to the community will come with the forward-thinking Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that Tony and his team are known for, ” he added.
The Chairman of Transcorp Consortium, Mr Tony Elumelu, said the journey to acquire the plants had been long and tssking it’s successful acquisition and subsequent operation by Transcorp Consortium would lead to improved access to electricity and better livelihoods.
