Senator Shehu Sani, a prominent Nigerian lawmaker has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and state governors of secretly selling five power generating plants without disclosing the utilization of the funds received.

He disclosed this in his Twitter handle on Monday.

Senator Sani, known for his outspoken nature and activism expresses his concerns over the alleged undisclosed sale of the power plants.

He claimed that the government, in collaboration with state governors, had carried out the transactions without informing the Nigerian public about the purpose of the funds acquired from the sale.

The post reads “Buhari’s Government in collaboration with the State Governors quietly sold the five power generating plants without telling the country what the money was used for.

The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has inaugurated the Afam 3 Fast Power 240-megawatt turbine project in Rivers State.

The project, which is a subsidiary of the Transcorp Group located in Oyigbo, on the outskirts of Port Harcourt in the state, was unveiled during a ceremony that took place on Tuesday.

The event, which was attended by several dignitaries, including the Chairman of Transcorp Group, Tony Elumelu, and other top officials, saw the Vice President arriving at the venue in a chopper at exactly 11:35 am.

Upon his arrival, he was escorted into the premises where he officially inaugurated the project.

During his speech at the event, he disclosed that the acquisition of the project was approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and the acquisition cost was ₦105.3 trillion.

Osinbajo further emphasized that the successful completion of the project is a significant breakthrough in Nigeria’s power sector.

In his address, Osinbajo said, “In 2020, electricity subsidies reached N584 billion, but service-based tariffs have led to a doubling of collection in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry from N40 billion in 2020 to N80 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

“If this trajectory continues, the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry will be able to pay for itself. Our administration has also created programs for off-grid for electrification. Rural Electrification Agency now has the capacity to provide electricity supply on a first-class basis.

“We are on track to electrify all Nigerians in the next decade. However, we will not make progress if our gas supply does not improve. The gas supply challenges are hampering improvements.”

He further lauded General Electric, the National Council on Privatization (NCP), and the host communities for their contribution to the completion of the Afam 3 Fast Power 240-megawatt turbine project in Rivers State.

Osinbajo highlighted that the successful completion of the project will significantly increase the country’s power supply capacity, leading to a better quality of life for Nigerians.

In November 2020, the federal government and the Transcorp Power Consortium signed a share sale and purchase agreement in relation to Afam Power Plc and Afam 3 Fast Power Limited.

The National Council on Privatization approved the privatization of the Afam Power Plant back in August 2017, which triggered a competitive bidding process involving 12 prospective investors.

After careful consideration, Transcorp Power Consortium emerged as the preferred bidder with a combined offer of N105 billion.

With the clock ticking in indication of the close of the President Muhammadu Buhari era, facts are beginning to emerge that he might have perfected plans to bequeath chaos in the electricity sector to the incoming administration.

Biztellers reports that dark days are in the horizon as the forces of the Nigerian government in the power sector have concluded plans to disconnect debtor electricity distribution companies.

Biztellers gathered that at the behest of the Federal Government, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Market Operator (MO) would pull the plugs in no distant time on the back of notices of disconnection from the grid served on some of the Discos by the MO.

It was further gathered that the MO, a unit company of the TCN had notified the Discos as well as the generating companies of the disconnection plan, on the grounds of failure to keep up with remittances of ancillary services bills.

Executive Director, MO, Eddy Eje, in a recent media statement had cautioned the erring Discos to make necessary payments to avert the bad situation becoming worse.

However, the hard conversations saw some relief with the intervention of the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who brokered a 60-day grace period.

The general perception is that the defaulters ought to have complied with the provisions of the Market Rules with respect to payment of their outstanding invoices, posting of adequate bank guarantees, and forwarding of their active Power Purchase Agreements as the case may be, to the MO/TCN.

In the absence of this provision, electricity power consumers in Nigeria can expect dark days, as there are no clear signals from the Discos of compliance.

What with Managing Director/CEO, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Kingsley Achife signaling that there would be mass disconnection from the national grid.

He made this known in a media statement in which he fingered poor remittances by customers.