BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
WORKERS of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, have advised Nigerians to discountenance media reports that some 135 indigenous and international firms are conducting physical due diligence on 17 power units that have been put for sale by the Federal Government under the privatization progrmme.

The National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, in a statement last week, said that the reported due diligence were  taking place on paper.

In the statement titled: “ Re-Dangote , 134 others begin due diligence on power firms”, NUEE’s Head, Information & Research, Comrade Reuben P. Orlu , advised government and the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, against violating agreements reached with labour and to halt provocative media reports to avoid industrial unrest in the sector.

The statement read in part; “In order not to mislead the unsuspecting and vulnerable Nigerians, we wish to put the records straight.  It is not true that physical due diligence is currently going on the so-called 17 Power Firms that have been alleged to have been put up for sale by the Federal Government.

We have been on the field and have not sighted any ‘foreigner’ in our work beats.  And it is obvious that any such ‘foreigner’ would have been embarrassed by workers’ cold reception.

What we, however, know is that the Government/BPE is undertaking a ‘Mysterious Due Diligence’ by allocating to their cronies, fronts and some cabal members their due share of what becomes of the ‘Elephant’ they had planned to execute.  They are sharing what they think have successfully been looted by them.  No physical conduct of due diligence is taking place.”

The NUEE spokesman recalled recent agreements reached with the Federal Government through its Conciliator/Negotiator, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, on how to move the sector forward, and regretted that the agreements are not being implemented.