As part of its concerted efforts to address the incessant collapse of the national grid and its attendant mass blackout, the present administration will soon establish a Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO) to tackle challenges in the transmission chain of the power sector.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting.
Idris said the initiative was contained in a memorandum presented to the Council by President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the meeting.
He maintained that, once established, the company will address the challenges in the transmission component of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, which he noted has been identified as the main encumbrance in the quest for stable power in the country.
Enumerating the three segments of the power sector — generation, transmission and distribution — he declared that the transmission arm remains the weakest link in the chain.
He said: “You recall that since the deregulation of the power sector, the sector has been divided into three categories: generation, transmission and distribution. The President has seen that the main problem in our quest to solve the power challenge lies largely in the transmission section.”
Idris further declared that an inter-ministerial committee to work out the operational framework for the proposed company has been approved by FEC. The team has the mandate to examine all regulatory, legal and investment issues associated with the establishment of the new entity, including the interests of existing investors and operators within the sector
He said: “All the enabling parameters will be looked at, the laws will be examined, and those who are practising in that sector and those who have invested in that sector will also have their level of investment considered.”
Members of the committee include the Minister of Power, the Minister of State for Gas, the Minister of Works, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, the Minister of Science and Technology, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The Information Minister said the administration was concerned about fixing the power sector, which he noted is critical to consolidating ongoing economic reforms and accelerating Nigeria’s industrialisation.
“The President feels that for us to actually industrialise, the power sector must be fixed, and that is why he has taken this initiative of looking at how this Grid Asset Management Company will be set up to help solve the problem of power in this country.”
The FEC also approved the implementation of an additional exit benefit scheme for retiring civil servants in treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies under the contributory pension scheme.
According to the Information Minister, the scheme will provide retiring employees with benefits of up to 100 per cent of their total emoluments in line with Section 4(4)(a) of the Pension Reform Act. The measure is designed to improve efficiency and motivation within the civil service by strengthening the welfare framework for public servants approaching retirement.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune