India’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Sachdev, has said some worthy and credible Indian investors are ready to participate in the oil-rich African country’s plan to privatise the electricity sector.
In this regard, Mr Sachdev recently paid a courtesy call on Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr Bart Nnaji, where he pleaded for a favourable consideration for Indian companies in the privatisation process, without jettisoning the Nigerian administration’s “mantra of a level playing ground’’.
Mr Sachdev urged Nigeria, which suffers from chronic power shortages, to see the challenge of refurbishing the sector as a battle that must be won.
“For the long-standing relations with India and as two prominent leaders of the Commonwealth, India would do all in her powers to complement the efforts of Nigeria in driving darkness out of the country through a regular gesture of support,” Mr Sachdev said.
He noted that the bane of the sector is inefficiency and maladministration.
In early June, two Indian firms — the Tata Group and an Essar Consortium — were pre-qualified by Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for the next stage of privatisation of the successor companies of state-run Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
As many as 525 companies applied for the process, but only 207 were certified by the BPE to continue to the next level. Notably, the Tata Group is among some 40 companies in the list that have sought a controlling stake in hydro-generation companies to be excised from PHCN.
The country, with a population of 150 million, experiences epileptic power supply, with the deficiency forcing industries to resort to diesel-powered generator engines for power.
The President, Mr Goodluck Jonathan, who commenced a fresh four-year term on May 29, has promised to reverse the trend and improve power generation.