Vice-President Namadi Sambo
Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Patrick Ugeh
The National Council on Privatisation (NCP), chaired by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, will today meet to approve the results of the evaluation of technical bids submitted for the 11 distribution companies (discos) unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The discos and six generation companies (gencos) are slated for sale under the privatisation programme.
Under the transaction timeline of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the evaluation of technical bids was conducted between August 14 and 28, 2012, while NCP ought to have approved the results of the technical evaluation by September 11.
The NCP will at today’s meeting consider the report of the evaluation of technical proposals submitted by local and foreign investors jostling for the distributions assets.
Among the major companies bidding for the assets include Integrated Energy Distribution & Marketing Limited, which is promoted by former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Mr. Tunde Ayeni and Dr. Shola Ayandele, and will go head to head against Oando, Honeywell and Western Consortium.
Integrated Energy submitted technical and financial bids for the Eko, Ikeja, Ibadan and Yola Discos; Oando submitted bids, alongside the Lagos State Government, for Eko Distribution Company and Ikeja Distribution Company Limited respectively; Honeywell, in conjunction with the Lagos State Government, is also bidding for the two Lagos-based discos; while Western Consortium submitted bids for Ibadan Disco. Also in the race for Eko and Ikeja Discos is Ampiron Power Distribution Limited.
Interstate Electric Nigeria Limited is slugging it out with several other bidders, which include Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited for Enugu Distribution Company.
In the case of Port Harcourt Distribution Company, Four Power Consortium is contesting against Rockson Engineering; Southern Electric Distribution Company and Rockson submitted bids for Benin Distribution Company; while Sahelian Power SPV Limited submitted bids for Kano Distribution Company.
Meanwhile, Skipper Nigeria Limited is bidding for Kaduna Distribution Company against NAHCO Energy and Power Limited.
However, investigations showed that none of these bidders was successful, compelling the BPE to come up with three fresh options, which it intends to submit to NCP, on how to handle the failed bids for Kaduna Disco.
The first option is to re-advertise the company to harvest a new batch of expressions of interest from prospective investors; the second option is to allow those that submitted late technical and financial bids and were rejected by the BPE to submit their bids; and the third option is to invite other bidders that lost out at the financial bid stage to submit fresh bids for Kaduna Disco.
In all, 54 bids were submitted to the BPE by companies interested in acquiring the distribution assets slated for privatisation.
As the NCP meets to consider the report of the evaluation, the Managing Director of Sahelian Power, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, who is alleged to have the backing of the vice-president, yesterday denied any links with Sambo.
In a statement made available to THISDAY, Gwamna described Sahelian Energy as a consortium comprising Incar Power Limited, IPL, promoted by Alhaji Umaru Muttalab and Dantata Investment and Securities Limited, which belongs to Alhaji Aminu Dantata.
Other members of the consortium are Sahelian Energy and Integrated Services Limited (SEIS), promoted by Yusuf H. Abubakar; Highland Electricity Limited (HEL), promoted by Alhaji Kashim Bukar Shettima, and Kayseri Ve Civari Elektrik T.A.S. (KCETAS), a Turkish electricity generation and distribution company.
“The promoters of these companies are highly responsible Northern entrepreneurs,” Gwamna said.