Nigerian Government To Sell Five Electricity Companies to Fund 2023 Budget

The Nigerian government plans to sell some of the country’s power generation companies six months after announcing the restructuring of power distribution companies and the privatization of five power projects.

The government has said the sale will take place in the first quarter of 2023 and the proceeds will be used to fund the 2023 budget, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

President Muhammadu Buhari presented a record budget of N20.5 trillion this coming October, with N10.78 trillion without revenue support, leaving a budget deficit of 4.8% of GDP.

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Gencos’ power generation businesses for sale are Geregu Power Station, a 562 MW facility located in Calabar, Cross River State, and Oloronsogo Power Station.

Alex Okoh, general manager of the Office of Public Companies, told Bloomberg on Thursday that bidding for the companies will begin this month and end in late March.

The plants are among the energy projects selected for privatization in July.

Since the government handed over power in 2013, private companies have struggled to provide electricity.

Nigeria’s power system remained largely inoperative, producing and distributing an average of 4,000 megawatts to around 200 million people.