The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has clarified that 12 firms submitted bids for Afam Power Company and seven for the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) at the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) for the acquisition of the two power companies contrary to its earlier report that seven bids for Afam and 12 for Yola.
According to a statement, BPE recalled that19 firms indicated interest to acquire the Afam Power Company and the Yola Distribution Company (YDC) put up for sale by the Federal Government at the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) at 1 pm on Tuesday, September 26, 2018.
It said among the companies that bid are renowned players in the power industry which the Evaluation Committee earlier set up by the Bureau to scrutinize the bids has already been inaugurated and commenced work.
Although Yola Distribution Company was successfully privatised and handed over to the core investor in 2013, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the core investor citing insecurity in the North-East region of the country.
Following this, the company was duly repossessed by the Federal Government. The transaction for Afam Power Generation Company on the other hand fell through due to the delay in signing the Gas Supply Agreement (GSAA) and the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA).
In 2017 the National council on Privatisation (NCP) gave approval for a fresh transaction to privatise the two power companies.
FAKE JOB APPLICATIONS
In another development, BPE has dissociated itself from an online portal inviting unsuspecting members of the public to submit job applications with the privatization agency.
In a statement in Abuja on Friday, September 28, 2018, BPE said the portal www.bpe.gov.ng was fake and obviously the handiwork of some scammers out to dupe desperate job seekers in the country.
“We wish to state emphatically that BPE is not recruiting at the moment and has therefore, not opened a portal for the purpose (recruitment). The purported BPE Recruitment 2018/2019 Application Form Portal (www.bpe.gov.ng) is fake and the handiwork of scammers”.
The Bureau advised the general public to disregard the said portal as recruitment in the Bureau is advertised in reputable national media and on the Bureau’s website.
