The National Council on Privatization (NCP) has approved the Board composition and proposed governance framework for the sustainable management and payment of post-privatization liabilities of the power sector transferred to the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) Board.
The NCP also approved the fast-tracking of the work plan for the concession of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant (ZHPP).
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity (Office of the Vice President), Laolu Akande,on Friday July 1, 2022, which was seen by Nairametrics, these were among the highlights of the meeting of the council which took place on Thursday at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
The meeting which was the third in 2022, was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Board Composition of NELMCO
The composition of the NELMCO board includes the Minister of Finance, who will be the Chairman, with other members like the Minister of Power; Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE); Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO); the Managing Director of NELMCO; and all its Executive Directors.
Also to be included as part of the board following the resolution of the council are two key members from the private sector.
Key objectives of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant concession
Some of the key objectives of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant concession include leveraging private sector access to finance and reduce reliance on government budgetary allocation to fund the China EXIM Bank loan, as well as leveraging efficiencies and better facility management (maintenance) culture of the private sector for long-term preservation of the asset.
The NCP had in its December 2020 meeting, approved the concession of the ZHPP.
Also, the council was briefed on the performance assessment report of the 9 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), which has been forwarded to the power sector regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), for further review and action.
The council at the meeting noted that a thorough performance assessment revealed that most of the set performance targets were not met by the 9 DisCos.
Present at the meeting were council members which included Federal Ministers and representatives of Federal Ministries such as the Minister of Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Adamu, Director General of BPE, Alex Okoh; heads of MDAs and other senior government officials.
