Oscarline Onwuemenyi
04 February 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal Government has approved the secondment of Alhaji Usman Gur Mohammed of the African Development Bank as the interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Louis Edozien, in a statement said that Muhammed’s appointment was part of efforts by the government to reposition the company for better service delivery to Nigerians.
It said that Mohammed has resumed duty with a 12-month non-extendable deadline to complete his transformational mandate and set TSP and ISO on a path of greater operational efficiency and effectiveness.
It also said that his approval was designed to ensure responsiveness to the needs of the generation companies and distribution companies, who are TCN’s customers.
It said Mohammed was until his secondment, the Principal Power Utility Transformation Specialist in the AfDB’s Nigerian Office.
It said, “Mohammed joined the service of the AfDB in 2009. He has served in various senior level management roles in charge of financial control, power utility policy and transformation.
“Before joining AfDB, Mr. Mohammed worked for the then National Electric Power Authority.”
The statement said that Mohammed also served as the Secretary of revenue cycle management project which was NEPA’s first public-private partnership initiative.
According to the statement, he also served as head of financial management for TCN’s Project Management Unit.
It said Mohammed is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the various professional bodies related to his profession.
“Mohammed holds a BSc Degree in Accountancy, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and a Master of Business Administration (Management), Bayero University Kano.”
Yesterday, workers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria grounded activities at the firm’s Abuja headquarters for some hours in protest against the alleged removal of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Abubakar Atiku, by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
The workers, who carried various placards urging the minister not to destroy the power sector, gathered at the entrance to the TCN building singing solidarity songs against the alleged move by Fashola.
It was observed that the protesting workers refused to work for about two hours, as they explained that last week, Fashola asked the TCN managing director to hand over to a new transitional chief executive officer, Mr. Usman Mohammed, without following laid down procedures.