Strong indications have emerged that the ongoing reform in the power sector is under threat from top Nigerian businessmen and the government.
Some local firms that lost out in the bid for the purchase of the Transmission Company of Nigeria are now making efforts to frustrate the Canadian firm (Manitoba) that won the bid.
SATURDAY PUNCH investigations showed that some of the key figures threatening the ongoing privatisation had personal interests, which has pitted them against one another.
It was learnt that the different interests and the bad blood generated among the drivers of the reform had adversely affected the status of Manitoba in the scheme of things.
However, a former Minister of Power and a former Managing Director of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria had strong links with the Canadian firm.
Also, the officials of the Bureau for Public Enterprise and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, had come under intense pressure to cancel the offer to Manitoba.
It was learnt that those who lost out on the bid for the TCN, were pushing for a fresh bid, which the AGF was said to have opposed stoutly.
But when our correspondent contacted Adoke on the telephone on Thursday, he denied knowledge of such disenchantment about the Manitoba offer.
Adoke said he had not given any advice on the Manitoba offer and could not have been said to have resisted pressure from any quarter to cancel the offer.
He said those behind the story might be out to cause some mischief.
He said whenever the view of his office was sought on the issue, he would give it in good conscience and in accordance with the provision of the law.
He said, “I am not aware of this information. And it is not true that my office has come under any pressure. My office cannot come under pressure, I am Attorney-General, and I do my job in accordance with the provision of the law.
“I could not have said that the offer was transparently done when my advice had not been sought on it. That is not true. I couldn’t have been resisting what I don’t know anything about. Whenever my advice is sought, I will give it appropriately.”
But it was gathered that a highly placed personality in government was aggrieved because a top industrialist, who submitted his letter late for the bid, was not given the nod.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who has made the provision of electricity as one of the priorities of his administration, had instructed Vice-President Namadi Sambo to oversee the power sector reform being implemented by the minister.
Investigations showed that the process of implementation was marked by mutual suspicion.
The issue of suspicion and its threat to the ongoing reform again came into play on Wednesday when the Minister of Power sent security operatives to lock out protesting workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria at the Maitama head office of the firm.
The PHCN workers and the office of the minister accused each other of surreptitious moves to scuttle the ongoing power sector reform.
The Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Mr. C-Don Adinuba, alleged that PHCN workers were being used by vested interests to scuttle the reform which is expected to proffer solutions to the nation’s power problems.
Adinuba said the workers, who claimed to have outstanding labour issues on the ongoing privatisation of the PHCN, were being used against the successful implementation of the reform by importers of diesel and generators.
He said, “Power is coming back to this country now. Some of these workers are working for people with vested interests.
“They are working for importers of generators and diesel, who would not want improvement in the power sector.”
But the National Vice-Chairman of National Union of Electricity Employees, Mr. Etete Ntukuben, dismissed the claim by the minister’s aide as lies.
He said Adinuba’s remarks were motivated by the plan of his boss to push out workers without fulfilling the terms of their employment.
He alleged that the real enemies of the power sector reform were the minister and his team and not the workers as claimed.
He alleged that millions of naira had been withdrawn from the coffers of the PHCN ostensibly to take care of security expenses.
According to him, the management is claiming to have spent millions on naira on soldiers and police since the workers’ conflict with the government started.
“You can now see the lies they are peddling; he wants us to go without payment contrary to our terms of employment.
“It is the minister that is the real enemy of the reform. Do you know how much money they are making from it?
“They have withdrawn millions to give to security, the police, the soldiers and others. But how many PHCN workers do you see vandalising anything?
“They are the real enemies of the power sector; nobody is sponsoring anybody, they are the people who want to hijack the power sector without meeting their responsibilities.”
Also, the NUEE, led by Mr. Wisdom Nwachukwu, alleged that the minister was the one frustrating the process because he was an interested party in the privatisation of the power sector.
Nwachukwu argued that the minister had embarked on deliberate provocation of the workers to paint the picture that they were opposed to the Manitoba deal.
He alleged that the minister ordered the stoppage of salaries to workers at the PHCN headquarters in addition to stopping their salaries on the day Manitoba was billed to take over.
Nwachukwu alleged that Nnaji was opposed to Manitoba because his company, which he would have preferred to get the deal, did not win the bid.
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