22nd November, 2019
The Federal Government has issued some clarifications over the decision of the National Economic Council on the issue of the ownership of electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos.
A corrigendum issued by the Vice President’s office on Friday said at no time did the council discuss the ownership of DISCOs.
It described as erroneous one screaming headline that said “FG May Take Over DisCos.”
“For the purposes of clarity and accurate records, the ONLY issue which came up for discussions at NEC yesterday was about the quantum of State governments’ interests, if any, in the 40% shares retained by the Nigerian Government in each of the DisCos at the point of privatization.
“A Committee was then constituted to review historical records and advise the Council accordingly”, Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity said.
At the media briefing by Imo governor, Emeka Ihedioha, the NEC was reported to have resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to look into the ownership structure of power distribution companies.
He stated that `NEC resolved to constitute an ad hoc committee, including Kaduna Gov. Nasiru el-Rufai, as well as governors representing the six geo-political zones, to review the status of the ownership structure of the power distribution companies.
El-Rufai was at some point, Director-General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) while the six governors are currently serving on the board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
“He said that the committee would also include representatives of the National Council of Privitisation (NCP) and BPE.
The governor said that what gave rise to the discussion on the NDPHC was an issue that came up in terms of ownership between the Federal Government and state governments.
“ It was important for us to deal with all concerns and establish factually what the true situation is.
“Whether it is a joint or partnership ownership structure between the Federal Government and the state governments or whether the Federal Government has divested its shares,’’ he said.