FG Hands PHCN Over To New Owners, Pays Workers N360bn

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The Federal Government yesterday handed over the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to the 14 successor companies created following the unbundling of the PHCN to their individual new owners across the country in spite
of threats by the former workers to cause crises during the ceremony across the country. The handover ceremonies took place in Abuja, Enugu, Egbin, Eko, Ikeja, Benin, Kaduna and Jos simultaneously.
The Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo, said that yesterday’s handover marked the concluding stage of the transaction for the four generation and 10 distribution companies.
Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, who performed the official physical handover of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company to its new owner, Kann Utility Consortium Nigeria Limited, at a ceremony in Abuja noted that the government had successfully paid most of the former PHCN workers their severance and pension packages.
“Already, N360 billion has been paid out. The remaining N30 billion or so is in the pipeline and all the issues of certification, biometric capture and making sure that clearance is done are being completed,” he said.
Nebo explained that the Federal Government and the two key workers’ union leaders in the sector reached an agreement on Thursday to peacefully handover the power firms to their new owners.

According to him, “agreements have been reached. Please never in the history of this country has a government kept its word in issues like this as has been demonstrated by the present administration.
“Government is on it and the date has been fixed for some as November 15, while November 30 is for others. I have given my word and I am saying that no worker will be short-changed.”
Earlier in his address, Vice President Sambo, had said that the handover marked the concluding stage of the transaction for both the four generation and 10 distribution companies.
Sambo who was represented on the occasion by Professor Nebo said the participation of the private sector would bring about higher generation capacities through the provision of more efficient and cost effective power stations as well as improvements in distribution in the areas of billing, collection and transmission networks among others.
Handling over also held successfully in Jos, Enugu, Egbin, Eko, Ikeja, Benin, and Kaduna.