NCP Approves Execution Of Performance Agreements For Afam Power Sale, VP Shettima Calls For Shift In Privatisation Agenda

The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) on Thursday approved a request by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to proceed with engagement with Transcorp Power Consortium to secure the execution of the Performance Agreements (PAs) for the sale of Afam Power Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited.
The move aims to regularise outstanding conditions and operational targets under the post-acquisition plan and ensure the commercial viability of the plants.
This decision comes as NCP Chairman, Vice President Kashim Shettima, called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s privatisation agenda, urging a transition from merely selling state-owned enterprises to optimising assets to drive the nation’s ambition of building a trillion-dollar economy.
The approval followed a memo presented to the Council by BPE Director General, Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, at the third NCP meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He stated that the Federal Government completed the sale of the Afam Power Plant, with an outstanding N53.9 billion collected as privatisation proceeds.
Gbeleyi explained that while the asset has been fully handed over to the core investor, Transcorp Power Consortium, the government also restructured its transaction earlier this year. He added that executing the PAs, a standard part of the post-acquisition process in Nigeria’s power sector privatisation, formalises the investor’s commitment to achieving specific performance targets, such as increasing the plant’s operational capacity within a set timeframe.
“With the execution of the PAs to regularise the transactions, the BPE can now commence mandatory post-privatisation monitoring of the core investor’s performance obligations,” Gbeleyi said.
He also noted that the Council reviewed its own performance and that of the BPE in 2025, including the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
“As discussed at the meeting, the unbundling of TCN into two entities the Nigerian Independent System Operator and the Transmission Service Provider was achieved this year,” he explained.
Prior to the approval, VP Shettima emphasised the need for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s privatisation agenda, moving from simple sales of state-owned enterprises to asset optimisation aimed at realising the nation’s trillion-dollar economy ambition.
He highlighted that this new direction requires discipline and vision to guide the country away from inefficiency. “Our aspiration to build a trillion-dollar economy demands discipline, vision, and absolute adherence to the compass produced by this Council. Without such a compass, our economic projections would amount to nothing more than theoretical exercises,” VP Shettima said.
The Vice President outlined a vision for the NCP to unlock the value of Nigeria’s latent assets, including underutilised land, dormant real estate, and untapped intellectual property.
He said: “The necessity of this Council has never been in doubt. We replace bureaucratic bottlenecks with commercial agility, relieve government of the costly burden of subsidising inefficient state-owned enterprises, and attract vital investment.”
VP Shettima also directed the Council to explore modern models such as long-term concessions, asset-backed securitisation, and core investor sales tied to strict performance benchmarks. He stressed zero tolerance for ambiguities to prevent costly litigation and to signal stability and seriousness to international investors.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, commended the BPE team for its commitment to quality and best practices. Other contributors at the Council meeting included Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN; and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso.
The post NCP Approves Execution Of Performance Agreements For Afam Power Sale, VP Shettima Calls For Shift In Privatisation Agenda appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.