The Federal Government’s insistence on holding on to the Egbin Thermal Power Plant more than six years after a South Korean firm emerged as its core investor is a decision that has continued to defy logic. This is especially so that the plant has remained a drain on public resources, even as the power situation in the country continues to move from bad to worse. Yet, the Federal Government recently released N1.5 billion from the Multi-Year Tariff Order for the repairs of a damaged unit at the power plant, on which about N71.88 billion had already been spent since 2007 to bring it back into full operation. This wasteful spending must end.
Korea Electric Power Corporation Energy Resources, operating under a joint venture with Nigeria’s Sahara Energy Group, had in 2007 acquired a 51 per cent equity stake in the 1,320-megawatt-capacity plant, as part of the ongoing privatisation process of the country’s ailing power sector by the Federal Government. The company also went ahead to pay $28 million, being the initial 10 per cent deposit it was required to pay in line with the guidelines made public by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
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