...as old workers still collect electricity bill
The actual date for the physical takeover of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies by the new owners is yet uncertain as Federal Government has said it is yet to announce the date.
There were wide speculations that the Federal Government may have scheduled November 1, 2013 for the actual takeover of the privatised 14 successor companies of the PHCN, by the new investors, but the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, said government was yet to announce any date for the physical handover.
Dikki, who spoke at the 4th Nigerian International Power Expo and Conference onin Abuja, said the date will only be announced when government must have addressed some critical issues to ensure a successful and proper takeover by the private investors.
President Goodluck Jonathan had on September 30, 2013 assured Nigerians of stable electricity supply as he officially handed over the share certificates and licences to 14 core investors of the PHCN successor companies. Ordinarily, the formal transfer of the assets should allow the new investors immediate access to the power utilities, but the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said that would only be possible when the remaining PHCN workers have been paid their entitlements in weeks to come, in order to have a smooth and peaceful transition.
And, even as the assets were being officially transferred from government ownership to private hands, PHCN workers in Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, Kano, Jigawa and Katsina had shut down the operations of the power utility in protest over the non-payment of their entitlements, before the handover of the assets to the new investors.
But Dikki said there was no need for apprehension on the part of PHCN workers, assuring that BPE had remitted proceeds from the sale of 14 successor generation and distribution companies of the PHCN to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) which is currently working towards effecting transfer to every staff member's Retirement Saving Accounts (RSA). Dikki said that virtually all the proceeds generated from the sale of the power utilities had been transferred to the OAGF for onward disbursement to PHCN staff for their severance pay.
He said government is currently monitoring the progress of payment exercise to find out if the bulk of the staff has received the alerts for the severance package and pension payouts.
"When we meet tomorrow we assess the situation and if we think all the critical issues have been properly addressed, then we will announce when we will do the formal handover. "The formal handover is ceremonial; when we want to announce to the public that this is the end of government era of running the private sector.
This is the beginning of the era of power being run by the private sector. We will announce when the handing over will be done it is a public event it would not be done in secret. We have not announced it because we still want to cross the Ts and dot the Is so that everything will be done successfully.
"I want to assure every staff of PHCN, whether it is a permanent staff or casual staff, that the Federal Government signed an agreement with Labour to address all their entitlements. Government has provided all the money. And we have transferred the money to the Office of the Accountant general of the Federation.
"The OAGF is working towards effecting transfer to every staff's RSA accounts; already all of them have received 25% of the payment. Even government was not going to pay them why pay part, all of them have received 25% what is left now is the balance that migrated to their retirement savings accounts. The funds have been moved to the OAGF which can be verified".
Source: PHCN: DISCOs, GENCOs' takeover date uncertain (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/phcn-discos-gencos-takeover-date-uncertain/)