The Federal Ministry of Power has denied a plan to privatise or sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
TCN is among the 18 companies that were unbundled during the 2013 power sector privatisation. While six Generation Companies (GenCos) and 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos) were privatised, TCN was retained initially under a management contract by Manitoba Hydro International Limited of Canada.
In a statement on Wednesday from Isa Sanusi, the spokesman to the Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, the ministry said it’s a response to media reports and statements claiming that there is a plan to privatise TCN.
It said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has no intent to sell or privatize the Transmission Company of Nigeria, and no one in the FGN has made a statement of intent to sell TCN.
“TCN is a centrepiece in the Federal Government of Nigeria’s efforts to rejuvenate the power sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Power working with key stakeholders is continuing to evaluate, assess and upgrade TCN to make it more efficient and transparent.”
To reposition it, the ministry said recruitment of more personnel has been done instead of disengaging staff. The organisation has also been carrying out sustained capacity building by training and retraining of staff across all cadre for efficiency and service delivery, it noted.
Transmission is a vital segment of the electricity value chain that constantly needs significant investment and global best practice demands that the government retains it.
“Currently, the federal government is investing and supporting efforts to make TCN a world-class transmission service provider.
The federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari focuses on upgrading, stabilizing and modernizing Nigeria’s power industry through various interventions, including the Nigeria-Siemens partnership under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI),” said the ministry’s statement.
