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The Chairman of Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Tukur Modibbo, who spoke on behalf of the other 11 investors, said they were even ready to sell below the cost price
Electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria have said their investment in the business is not profitable, hence they are seeking buyers.
The Chairman of Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Tukur Modibbo, who spoke on behalf of the other 11 investors, said they were even ready to sell below the cost price.
Modibbo, while fielding questions on the sideline of a news conference organised by the Association of Electricity Distributors in Abuja on Tuesday, decried the poor rate of non-returns on investors’ funds in the distribution value chain of the power sector.
He said the balance sheet of the DisCos were not bankable, hence their inability to fully obtain the required funding to invest in their distribution networks.
According to him, Jos DisCos is ready to give up its licence if the Federal Government could refund the money invested in the utility.
He said: “We bought Jos DisCo for $82 million.
“We are ready to give it away for $72 million if we see buyers now.
“If government refunds the investors their money, we will quit the business.”
Modibbo, however, called on the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to meet with the investors to hear their challenges with a view to evolving possible solutions to the challenges in the sector.
Also speaking, John Ayodele, the Chief Operating Officer Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, said the DisCos could not embark on physical due diligence of the privatised power entities before taking over the assets.
Ayodele said: “There was no accurate technical, physical due diligence on what DisCos bought.”
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the DisCos paid $1.4 billion (about N427 billion) to acquire the distribution assets in 2013.
From: theeagleonline.com.ng
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