*Berates BPE for exclusion in sales
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Okoloma community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, has berated the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE, for allegedly concluding the sale of Afam Power Plc, without input of the host community.
Recall that Transcorp Consortium, recently announced 100 percent acquisition of the 966MW installed capacity Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited, at an acquisition cost of N105.3billion.
Afam Power Plc, is Nigeria’s premier thermal power plant located in Okoloma-Ndoki, Oyigbo LGA of Rivers State, built between 1961 and 2001, by Brown Boveri Company, Asea Brown Boveri, ABB and Siemens.
The station has five power plants, consisting of 20 gas turbines with a combined capacity of generating 966 mega watts of electricity.
Speaking to newsmen, the Youth President of Okoloma Community, Stanleyson Akaya, expressed displeasure over what he described as non inclusion in the sale of Afam Power Plant to Transcorp, by the Federal Government.
Akaya explained that the community was not against the sale of the power plant by the Federal Government, but the interest of Okoloma community must be considered.
These interests, according to him, include equity shares in the ownership of Afam Power Plc.
Rivers youths threaten to shutdown Afam power station over supply
“We are here to express our displeasure on the sale of Afam Power Plc by the Federal Government, through BPE, to Transcorp, without the consent of the community and without the interest of the community being considered.
“The Federal Government must come to a roundtable discussion with the immediate host community of Okoloma kingdom and the entire Oyigbo LGA.
“We want equity shares in the sale of Afam Power Plc to Transcorp, we want percentage in the management staff, employment, road construction, they cannot take our property while our roads are deathtraps.”
Also speaking, Chairman, Community Development Committee of Okoloma, Samuel Nwagbara, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call BPE to order, for equal rights and justice for the interest of peace in the area.
Nwagbara said it was surprising that the Federal Government sold the asset without the input of the host community.
“BPE must engage the host community on a dialogue. This is not the only asset which the Federal Government has sold and we are aware inputs were made by the host communities.”
For his part, a Former National Coordinator of Oyigbo Youth Council, Fyneface Onyekachi, called for proper dialogue with the Stakeholders of Okoloma-Afam on the issue.
“The sale is not complete without the interest of the community being displayed, carried along, protected and ensure that it is being executed.”
