The newly elected board of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, would strengthen ongoing efforts to address liabilities linked to tariff shortages for electricity distribution firms across the country. Osinbajo made the claim in remarks made virtually at the inauguration of the new 10-member board of NELMCO, according to a statement released on Sunday and signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande.
The vice president also directed the board, which was made up of the ministers of finance, power, and other departments, to safeguard the interests of society, particularly of common people. As a board, he asked them to make conscious and deliberate efforts to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate the successful conclusion of the outstanding pre-privatisation issues of the defunct PHCN, and ensure effective implementation of NELMCO’s additional mandate to resolve the tariff shortfall problems of the Electricity Distribution Companies,” Osinbajo told the members, setting expectations for the new board.
Dr. Zainab Ahmed, the board’s chairperson and minister of finance, budget, and national planning, told Osinbajo in her speech that the board was ready to provide the quickest possible settlement of tariff gaps and related challenges in the electricity sector. Abubakar Aliyu, the Minister of Power, Mr. Alex Okoh, the Director General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mr. Olufunso Olukoga, Mr. Bayo Fagbemi, Mr. Muhammad Jumma’a, Mrs. Patience Oniha, Dr. Chinedum Orisakwe, Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas, and Dr. Nurain Ibrahim are also members of the board.
The takeover of four energy distribution companies, namely those in Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt DISCOs, has reportedly been completed satisfactorily, according to BPE Director-General Mr. Alex Okoh. Okoh said this during a presentation at the National Council on Privatization’s August 16 virtual meeting. She also said that the problem with taking over the Benin DISCO is being fixed.
The Vice Chair of the council and Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, attended the meeting on Osinbajo’s behalf.
