A leading non governmental organization (NGO), Eastern Solidarity Front (ESF), has sent a passionate appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan not to allow the leadership of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to destroy the development of Igboland by handing over the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company to a group which “clearly does not have the capacity to run the power company which is the sole electricity supplier to the Southeast geopolitical zone and parts of the South-south”.
The appeal is contained in a letter to President Jonathan signed by the ESF president, Hon Mark Iheukwu, and the secretary, Dr Johnny Edozie, supporting the position of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohaneze Ndigbo, that Interstate Electrics which won the preferred bid for the Enugu electricity distribution company but could not pay the remaining 75% of the $126m reserve bid by August 21 “does not have what it takes a utility of this kind”.
The NGO stated that the “most effective weapon to cripple both the economy and social development of our place, which is famous worldwide for excellence in science, technology and industrialization, is to hand over the ownership and management of the only power supplier to a firm with neither the financial wherewithal nor the technical expertise to make the Southeast be like the rest of the Nigeria where electricity is now in the hands of proven and capable firms.”
The ESF said that “the Igbo people throughout the world have given the president unquantifiable support and no one should expect an agency under his administration to work so brazenly against the interests of the East as the BPE leadership is doing right now”.
The Eastern Solidarity Front accused the BPE leadership of “an established single-mindedness to promote Interstate Electrics far beyond its possible competence.
“Interstate failed all technical and commercial qualifications during the earlier evaluation process, yet it was promoted.
“It was even allowed openly to change its figures by a decimal long after bid submission, contrary to the rules drawn up by the BPE.
“The magic of it all was that Interstate Electrics, with all the glaring handicaps, was awarded not just the Enugu Disco but also that of Abuja, and was asked to choose between the two distribution companies.”
The NGO described as a nullity the reported “21-day working day extension given to interstate to pay, saying any such “extension must be preceded by certain conditions, including the declaration of force majeure or an act of God like a natural disaster and an agreement to this effect must be reached by relevant parties before the payment deadline.
“Of course, no such situation obtained in the deal between the BPE and Interstate.
“A situation where there was the August 21, 2013, payment deadline for 14 bid winners for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) assets but a longer one for Interstate Electrics on account of its inability to raise the required funds as and when due makes a mockery of natural justice and the concept of rule of law, a frightening prospect in the conduct of business everywhere in the world”.
The group requested President Jonathan to “remind the BPE leadership that electricity business is not like the award of contracts for the turn-around maintenance (TAM) of refineries under the corrupt military regime where a nondescript individual would collect about $100m and just walk away, thus leaving the refinery in a worse situation ever since then.
“President Jonathan has since assumption of office done his best to insulate the power sector from politics and corruption, and the BPE leadership must come to terms with this reality in the overriding national interests”.
