Nigeria: Nnaji, PHCN’s Workers And Power Sector Reform

Original Post Date: 2011-07-25 Time: 12:00:02  Posted By: News Poster

By Luke Okoro
Those who did not want Prof. Bart Nnaji as a cabinet minister in-charge of power, would have been saddened with his clearance by the Senate after the screening. In fact, the Senators also wanted to know why so many people did not want him as minister, including the workers of the inefficient monopoly called Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

This could not have been so exactly as the eminent robotic engineering expert rightly explained. It’s only one segment of the workers’ unions that is opposed to the appointment. According to him, only the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) that is opposed to his appointment, even though such opposition is based upon misplaced fear. The fear of losing their jobs, given the resolve of the Federal Government to unbundle the power monopoly. As he rightly pointed out, the fear is unfounded because those who would run the sector when unbundled would still be Nigerians like NUEE members, who had, overtime, acquired experience and expertise in power engineering and management.

Many who had followed the sadistic campaign against Nnaji by some workers of PHCN would wonder what evil the man had done them.

They severally accused him of incompetence, especially as his own power plant at Aba, Abia state, which he started building to give electricity to that eastern industrial hub, had not commenced generation. Yet, it is common knowledge that the problem with Nnaji’s private power plant hinged on insecurity. At a time kidnapping and violent criminality took over Abia state and Aba in particular, the foreigners handling the project had to flee the country. It is gratifying that some of them are beginning to come back, giving indications that the power plant would be streamed next year. The plant would generate some 180 mega watts (mw) in the first instance with capacity for expansion as occasion demands. The resumption of work at the plant was made possible as a result of the deployment of soldiers, who now keep vigil there to ensure that kidnappers and armed robbers do not, again, terrorize the expatriates, and even the local staff.

The same opponents also argue that he would hand over the PHCN to his cronies. The accusation bothers on either nepotism or corruption. Yet, the man has remained patriotic, having left his comfort status in the United States, to return to his fatherland, to serve in whatever capacity that would impact on the general well-being of his compatriots. As Special Adviser on power to President Goodluck Jonathan since last year, when he was appointed, it has not been heard that he compromised his reputation. There is even no need to do so because he is a character any nation would emplore (not employ) to work to her. And one thinks that would have been at the back of President Jonathan’s mind when he ‘lured’ him into his cabinet to resolve the power maze by implementing his “roadmap on power”. The roadmap on power is a blueprint on how the Nigerian state can achieve power stability. It was authored by Nnaji and delivered at one of the Ahiajoku Lecture Series in Owerri, Imo state, capital a few years back.

Even then, the decay in the power sector has gone beyond the level where Nigerians would least be bothered about those who are running the system, insofar as they are assured of stable electricity to conduct their business, social lives, and to enhance their general well-being. No doubt, such Nigerians would have seen the two sides of the coin. The several decades the octopus was managed by NUEE had left the country in complete darkness and total decay of its infrastructure, which are today, in dire need of overhaul and re-tooling. As at the time the country began a fresh journey into democracy in May 1999, the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo disclosed that the entire power generation by PHCN stood at about 1,200mw out of a total installed capacity of 5,6000mw. Chief Obasanjo also told those who cared to listen during a network phone-in programme that the power monopoly was the most corrupt institution in the country, second, only to the Nigeria police.

So, when the junior workers of PHCN say that they would not cooperate with Nnaji as power minister, the immediate reaction would be: What kind of cooperation are they talking about? Cooperation to further destroy the power plants? Cooperation to continue to corrupt the system? Cooperation for what?

Perhaps, it would be import to remind the members of NUEE that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in the last two decades or more laid the inability of the economy to grow on the door steps of poor service delivery by PHCN (or National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) as previously known). The apex bank had insisted that despite its stable macro and micro fiscal and monetary policies, the real sector, especially manufacturing and industrial production had remained comatose due to poor power services.

Maybe, it was in the light of this development that the current governor of the apex bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi recently told the business community that the CBN would assist it to build a power plant to reduce the burden of inefficient power delivery foisted on them by the PHCN. Although it is not yet clear how the CBN would implement the policy, but Sanusi had had told journalists that the CBN would commit N600 billion to that effect and in the process generate 6,000mw. But, how many of such plants can CBN build across the country? And how would such power so generated be distributed if the present system run by the PHCN is not broken for a fresh start? Instructively, it is this demand for a new beginning that the suckers and leeches in the system are opposed. According to one analyst, Jimmy Ade, “those who are sucking and milking PHCN dry do not want to let go. They want to hold the nation down by their greed and corruption. They want the economy to remaine comatose due to poor electricity delivery.”

While these workers cooperated with past ministers of power, many companies in the country were closing down, scaling down production or relocating to other sub-regional smaller countries like Ghana on account of inefficient electricity.

These are not the best of times for the country, which had to cope with all these power delivery challenges amidst growing unemployment, rising crime waves and total social discontent. This explains why electricity workers should come to the existing reality that no nation grows, or develops or emerges an economic giant without power efficiency.

Interestingly, there appears some light in the tunnel as the Independent Power Projects (IPPs) which had for long, languished under sabotage, are beginning to produce. Some had already began to deliver to the national grid, while some would be streamed next year and by 2013, they would all have begun production. The 10,000 mw target would have almost been met, according to Nnaji.

Whereas it is reasonable to regard the opposition to Nnaji’s appointment as mischief, as the president knows what he is looking for, the unionists should rather pray for greater success in the PHCN’s transformation because everybody, including the current opponents, would benefit from its success. The telephone revolution is a case in point. In 2000, when Obasanjo gave out licenses for private telephone operators, many had thought it an impossible mission. Today, even the doubting Thomases have seen that Global System for Mobile Telephone (GSM) is achievable. Telephone penetration has also risen to over 80 million within a decade from less than 1 million in 1999. It is only a saddist, many say, that would want the power sector to remain the way it is today. The only analogy would be the extreme sad reality of the country’s four refineries located at Port Harcourt, Rivers, Warri, Delta and Kaduna, Kaduna states with a combined capacity utilization of 445,000 barrels per day. Perpetually collapsing under the burden of corruption and official inefficiency, these refineries had become almost national monuments.

Only recently, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of wasting funds on these refineries. She remarked that the corporation has been less than transparent in the running of the plants. It is doubtful, why she stopped at calling for the privatization of these plants. Perhaps, this is where Nnaji appears different. He believes that leaving the power delivery in the hands of government people is a recipe or underdevelopment. This is especially so, as the country cannot import electricity as she currently does with petroleum products. With local capacity standing at less than 30 per cent from the refineries, Nigeria is among the net importers of petroleum products, despite the fact that she is the six biggest exportor of crude in the globe.

It is important to remind Dr. Nnaji that his task in the power sector is most unenviable. This is because past ministers of the sector had failed. According to Obasanjo late Chief Bola Ige, former Justice Minister, could not solve the problem. He under-estimated the challenge. The likes of former Ondo state governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and Gov. Liye. Imoke of Cross River state, also came and did their beat, albeit, not satisfactorily to most Nigerians. But, somehow, they laid some foundations that could be honestly pursued. For instance, Imoke made good in road into radial power transmissional lines development with the award of several contracts, some of them had been completed. The rest should be diligently pursued.

Perhaps, the greatest challenge ahead of the power minister, is the workability of the Power Sector Reform Act. It is sad that six years after the law, not much progress had been made in the involvement of the private sector and state governments in power distribution.

For instance, states like Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Rivers have developed own power generation plants. They are also willing to distribute to their citizens, a desire that cannot currently be met within existing law. What is hindering states and private individuals from distributing power? Dr. Nnaji should see to the point, where the jinx of monopolistic electricity delivery is broken; where Nigerians would enjoy relative stable power supply each day and where industrial output would assume higher capacity utilization on account of efficient power delivery.

Granted also that the minister of power had been blackmailed in several ways, it still behoves on him to see that the PHCN’s workers that would eventually lose their jobs, by early retirement or whatever circumstances, are duly and timely paid their dues. To supervise such payments and the implementation of other recommendations by the Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu-as mediator, in a most sincere manner, would set Nnaji apart from those who currently oppose him, even though, ignorantly.

Meanwhle, the expectations of Nigerians is captured in these words by Rev. Father Emmanuel Umezinwa: “My frank personal opiniuon is that the Nigerian power sector cannot be patched any longer. It is in dire need of restructing, which is what the government is doing now by getting the private sector involved in order to bring about the much needed efficiency and effectiveness. As has been argued elsewhere, if millions of citizens exercised their civic right last April election by voting for President Jonathan, who made the power sector reform the first agenda in his manifesto, it means that the sovereign will of the Nigerian people must be respected by all, including those who want the cycle of corruption and ineptitute in service delivery to continue forever.”

Also expectedly, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has hinted that it has set out modalities for the privatisation of the PHCN. The Director-General of the Bureau, Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa said recently that they have invited private investors to ensure that the process is concluded as soon as possible. She insisted that protests by the workers of PHCN would not halt the process as the federal government was determined to fully privatise the power sector and save Nigerians from the pains and uner-development of the past. Indeed, the prayers by Nigerians is: let the process be fast-tracked for darkness to disappear.

Original Source:
Original date published: 24 July 2011

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201107250253.html?viewall=1

xxxxx Sign Up