Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has taken a bold step toward concluding the acquisition of Afam Power Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited by the Transcorp Power Consortium, approving the execution of the requisite Performance Agreements (PAs) to regularise the transaction.
This decision was reached during the Council’s third meeting of the year, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and presided over by its Chairman, Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The approval followed a formal memorandum presented to the Council by the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi. He informed the Council that the federal government had successfully concluded the sale process for the power plant, having received a total of N53.9 billion in privatisation proceeds.
Mr. Gbeleyi clarified that while the asset had already been physically handed over to the core investor, the Transcorp Power Consortium, and the financial transaction was restructured earlier this year, the execution of the Performance Agreements remained a crucial final step.
These PAs are a standard, vital component of Nigeria’s power sector privatisation framework. They legally bind the core investor to specific, time-bound performance targets, such as significantly increasing the plant’s operational capacity and ensuring its long-term commercial viability.
“With the execution of the PAs to regularise the transactions, the BPE can now commence the mandatory post-privatisation monitoring of the core investor’s performance obligations,” the BPE DG stated, underscoring the importance of this approval for ensuring the investor delivers on its commitments.
The meeting also served as a platform for a significant strategic shift in the nation’s approach to its assets. Vice President Shettima charged the Council to move beyond the traditional model of simply selling state-owned enterprises and instead embrace a new philosophy of strategic asset optimisation designed to fuel Nigeria’s ambition of building a trillion-dollar economy.
“Our aspiration to build a trillion-dollar economy is a destination that demands discipline, vision, and absolute adherence to the compass produced by this Council. Without such a compass, our economic projections would amount to nothing more than an exercise in theory formation,” the Vice President asserted.
He elaborated that this new direction would involve unlocking the immense value trapped in Nigeria’s latent assets, which he described as an “immense reservoir of national wealth,” including underutilised land, dormant real estate, and untapped intellectual property.
To achieve this, VP Shettima directed the Council to immediately begin exploring modern investment models such as long-term concessions, asset-backed securitisation, and core investor sales tied to strict performance benchmarks. He also issued a stern warning on maintaining the highest standards of transaction integrity to avoid costly litigation and project a credible image to the international investment community.
The Council also received updates on other key achievements, including the successful unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into the Nigerian Independent System Operator and the Transmission Service Provider.
The meeting was attended by several key members of the Council, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso.
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