Coalition group accuses Osinbajo of working against Northern interest over sales of power plants

 Coalition group accuses Osinbajo of working against Northern interest over sales of power plants

The Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) has blamed the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, for the planned sales of five power plants.

The group said the planned sales of Calabar, Ihovbor, Olorunsogo, Omotosho and Geregu power plants to fund the 2021 budget is against the interest of the north.

Balarabe Rufai, who spoke on behalf of the coalition at the House public hearing investigating privatisation of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, said the plants do not belong to only the federal government.

Furthermore, he said the federal government is reneging on the agreement that the plants are to be sold to finance renewable projects in the north.

According to Rufai, the power plants in the south should not be sold to finance the 2021 budget deficit.

He noted that the Vice President, who is the Chairman of both the board of the NDPHC and Council on Privatization, is involved in the process to privatize the plant against the interest of the North.

He queried the rush at which the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is pushing the sales of the power plants.

“Having studied the situation carefully, we consider that the current privatization move is part of the several schemes to cripple the North economically by short-changing it in the NOPHC project in which it is a major stakeholder and hereby prays the House of Representatives and the entire federal legislature as follows,” he said.

The details news was unable to reach the office of the Vice President and Alex Okoh, the DG of BPE did not pick his calls nor respond to the text message sent to his phone.

The committee will be meeting the CBN, Ministry of Finance and BPE on Thursday.