The Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) has formally withdrawn a court case it instituted to stop the procurement process for phase two of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
This decision was taken after the intervention of the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu at a stakeholder meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Power, where all the association’s concerns were tabled before the Minister.
In attendance at the stakeholders’ meeting were the Chairman, of NERC, represented by Mr. Nathan Shatti; the Commissioner of Finance and Administration, Dr. Alex Okoh; the Director General of, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and other directors in the Federal Ministry of Power.
Agreements reached
During the meeting, the Minister promised that AMMON members would be accommodated in the procurement process for the World Bank-funded NMMP phase 2 through a national competitive bid.
The government also agreed to work with the local meter manufacturers to implement other metering initiatives to address the huge metering gap in the power sector.
Reaction from AMMON President
President, Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON), Engr. Ademola Agoro said the association was happy with Adelabu’s reaffirmation of the government’s determination to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in local meter manufacturing and production to close the huge metering gap of over 8.0 million meters.
In his words,
- “Though this is a painful decision for the members of the association, the decision to discontinue the court case stopping the procurement process was done in the national interest and because of liquidity challenges of the power sector.”
- “We, therefore, seek the support of all stakeholders to work with the association to develop the metering sector and the backward integration program of the federal government.”
Backstory
Nairametrics reported the consistent opposition of the meter manufacturers association to the World Bank-funded metering program which they claim favoured international producers despite their capacity.
The association had earlier called for the suspension of the program and a ban on foreign companies from participating in the bidding process organized by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
