By Dayo Omogun
The Nigerian Power Consumers Forum (NPCF) has expressed concern that the recent removal of the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr Usman Gur Mohammed, may jeopardize $1.6 billion power transmission projects reform.
The $1.661 billion projects being funded by multilateral agencies’ funded projects in its effort geared towards expanding bulk power transmission to 20,000 megawatts (MW).
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Michael A. Okoh, condemned the arbitrary dismissal of the TCN boss citing the same arbitrariness in the way the heads of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and Rural Electrification Agency (REA) were also dismissed in December 2019 by the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, which were later reversed by the President.
The Forum said the arbitrary removal of the TCN boss by the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, defeats the objectives of due process in the federal government’s establishments and the overall objectives of power sector reform being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari
“He has turned a deaf ear and went on to repeat such costly mistakes again at TCN against a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha on applying due process to sanction heads of agencies.
“In the case of Mohammed, it was clear that he had done no wrong for the minister to remove him,” the statement added.
On the contrary, the Forum said Mohammed repositioned TCN and it is evident as multilateral donors flood to invest with cheaper loans in TCN.
The Forum opined that while the Company was floundering under the Manitoba Management contract, the regime of Gur Mohammed as the Managing Director had put it on a progressively positive trajectory which is manifest in the huge investments it had attracted as opposed to the Manitoba management which according to it failed to attract even a single dollar investment.
Some of the investments so far attracted under the sacked TCN boss Gur Mohammed include the French Development Agency & EU Grant was $500 million dollars, World Bank gave $486 million, AfDB gave $410 million, JICA brought $238 million and a grant to deliver capacitor bank in Abuja, Nasarawa and Lagos; World Bank is bringing another $27m for the North Core Project.
“All the projects totaling $1.661 billion except the North East Transmission Project which has been kept in abeyance until security improved are at various stages of implementation,”
The Forum urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately direct a reversal of the action to save the power sector from the budding dictatorship.
Dismissing the claim that Mohammed frustrated the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), the NPCF says “We wish to state that the claim is not correct as the minister was also misled to say TCN was causing the loss of one billion naira daily in the power sector. N1bn is such a huge money that if the TCN infrastructure was truly responsible for this, the power sector would have collapsed since.”
Explaining further, the Forum says “Despite the initial disagreement over choice of technology and other issues for the Siemens project, we were aware that TCN prepared its aspect of the project for the Minister to present to the President for approval. There are documents to that effect.
“TCN Management did not oppose the Siemens project. This is proven by how TCN prepared the final proposal which the Minister submitted to the State House on April 23, 2020”
The forum listed several achievements recorded by the Transmission agency under the leadership of Gur Mohammed stressing the need for President’ Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention.
“He (Mohammed) resolved the implementation bottlenecks of Ivory Coast-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea Power Interconnection project and Senegal-Gambia-Guinea Bissau line which should lead to the interconnection of all the entire 14 West African land border countries.”
“The North Core Interconnection Project between Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso was launched in 2019, after it had lingered for seven years. This project financed by AfDB, World Bank and AFD will construct more than 800KM of 330kV DC line and will help Nigeria to trade more electricity to those countries and earn foreign exchange.”
From 2017 when Mohammed assumed office at TCN, NPCF said “the firm which was the weakest link in the Nigeria power sector value chain was gradually transformed, raising transmission wheeling capacity from 5,000MW to 8,100MW, and recovering nearly 800 stranded containers to deliver scores of power transmission projects.”
“More than 70% of the bloated management structure has already been corrected as at when the minister removed him from office through a press release on May 19, 2020.
The TCN management has restored Pupilage training, a scheme previously used in NEPA but was cancelled under the previous management.
“Under the strategy of Mohammed, he and his management empowered TCN engineers to install transformers and equipment in various substations.The unprecedented installation of 75 power transformers across the nation by January 2020 was largely achieved through this scheme. TCN engineers were achieving this at the rate of less than 10% of contractors’ cost and delivery time.
That has saved billions of naira using the in-house engineers to complete power transmission projects. For instance, the Damaturu 330kV substation was achieved through this scheme. It was awarded in 2006 at $10.5 and N405 million but was not done, but TCN engineers completed it, and it has improved power supply in the northeast.”
“As we speak, the company is owed over N450 billion in unpaid balances plus interest by the 11 DisCos. To implement TREP, TCN attracted concessionary funding from multilateral donors.
On modernising TCN, the Forum said the company began championing the installation of a functional Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Electricity Management Services (EMS) under Mohammed.
“Nigeria had signed three SCADA contracts in the past, and all of them failed. The last contract signed in 2007 financed by the World Bank amounted to $47 million and still failed. This is worthy of commendation by any authority that ought to give backings for more successes,” NPCF noted.
On the international front, Mohammed who has also been the chairman of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), recorded many successes in the international front, worthy of commendation even by the minister.
Mohammed as WAPP chair also ensured successful liquidation of over $80m electricity trade debts between Nigeria, Benin and Togo and over $15m between Nigeria and Niger. Reports say that over 70% of the recovered fund plus current bills were paid to NBET which used it to settle outstanding invoices of Gencos.
The Forum drew attention to the circular issued by the SGF reminding ministers and other executives that it was not proper to remove CEOs of federal agencies without following the proper disciplinary process contained in the Establishment Act and other rules guiding the federal civil service.
“Mustapha had also issued similar warning to ministers and board of agencies in 2018 that they should desist from arbitrarily removing CEOs of their agencies. So it is not peculiar to the Minister of power as insinuated is some quarters,” the Forum noted.
“Rather than instituting processes at the Office of the SGF, the power minister chose to use the new Chief of Staff to get approval of the President for a letter he wrote to the late Chief of Staff to remove the hardworking MD of TCN, UG Mohammed.
“SGF who ought to direct the process was kept in the dark, and only the approved letter from the Presidency was given to the SGF. On top of this, they have pressured the SGF to issue a sack letter to Mohammed and a letter of appointment to the new person.
They ar
e not allowing the SGF to study the issue properly along with its implication on the Buhari’s administration, the power sector and the international community.
It further stated that.”Already, there are agitations from a section of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) at TCN, and the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) who feels the minister was reversing the gains of TCN by removing Mohammed.
“He has handled welfare issues, providing PPEs and safety kits, to the point that the unions label the two salary increments he has done in three years for the staff as UG1 and UG2,” said NPCF.
“To this end, we urge President Buhari to carefully look through the issue and cause a reversal of this back channel removal of the TCN head to save the company from becoming worse than the days of Manitoba contract, the Forum stated.