Nigerian government to sell five electricity companies to fund 2023 budget

The Nigerian government may have concluded arrangements to sell some electricity-generation companies in the country, in the first quarter of 2023 and the proceeds will be used to fund the 2023 budget.

Penpushing reports that this move is coming six months after the government announced the restructuring of power distribution companies and privatisation of five power projects, while the generating companies of Gencos for sale are Geregu power plant, a 562-megawatt facility in Calabar, Cross River State, and the Olorunsogo power plant.

The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh was quoted saying that bids for the companies will be opened this month and will close at the end of March, while it will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari presented a record budget of N20.5 trillion in October for next year with N10.78 trillion not backed by revenue, leaving a budget deficit that is 4.8 per cent of the GDP.

Penpushing further reports that, the power plants are part of the power projects that were shortlisted for privatisation in July, and it is also on record that since the government handed over authority in 2013, the privately owned businesses have had difficulty supplying electricity.

The facts showed that, Nigeria’s power system has mostly remained dysfunctional, producing and distributing an average of 4,000 megawatts to around 200 million people, while the Nigerian Government urged the private sector to invest in electricity to end shortages.

Penpushing also reports that,in a similar vein, the National Council on Privatization (NCP) at a meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja, has approved a governance framework for the development of a $3 billion plant in Makurdi, Benue State.

This is expected to be the largest hydropower project in West Africa, and the project’s development is to adopt a public-private partnership model and the plant is aimed at producing 1,650 megawatts of electricity.

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