The Federal Government said it has no plan to privatize the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday through his Special Adviser on Media, Malam Isa Sanusi.
With a dark reputation for reoccurring grid collapse, TCN is a critical power sector segment linking the privatized generation companies with the partially privatized distribution companies.
Being the main channel through which electricity is wheeled to the nation, the performance of the company determines what becomes of the Nigerian electricity sector.
Aliyu said, “The Federal Government has no intention to sell or privatize TCN and no one in the Federal Government has made a statement of intent on selling TCN.”
He said TCN is central to the government’s efforts to rejuvenate the power sector, adding that the government is rather working with key stakeholders to evaluate, assess and upgrade TCN, to make it more efficient and transparent.
As part of repositioning TCN, Aliyu said job opportunities are being created, as evidenced in the recently concluded ramp-up of employment, contrary to claims that there is a plan for mass disengagement at the company.
He said the organization has also been carrying out sustained capacity building by training and retraining staff across all cadres for efficiency and service delivery.
He said: “Transmission is a vital segment of the electricity value chain that constantly needs significant investment. As is the best practice across the world, the government of Nigeria maintains the transmission segment of the power value chain, even when other segments have been privatized.
“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, is focusing on upgrading, stabilizing and modernizing Nigeria’s power industry through various interventions, including the Nigeria-Siemens partnership, under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).”
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