About 19 companies have indicated interest to acquire Afam Power Company and Yola Power Distribution Company (YPDC) recently put up for sale by the federal government.
The Bureau of Pubic Enterprises (BPE) spokesperson, Amina Tukur, said at the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) for the two power companies, that seven bids were received from companies interested in acquiring Afam against 12 for the Yola distribution company (DISCo).
Ms Tukur said the requests by prospective bidders were collated shortly after the 1 p.m. deadline set for the submission of EoIs for the two companies on Tuesday, September 26.
The BPE spokesperson said the evaluation committee earlier set up by the bureau to scrutinise the bids was inaugurated by the director of energy, Yunana Malo, to commence work immediately after the expiry of the deadline.
The request for expression of interest in the two companies was published by the BPE in national newspapers on August 16, 2018.
Although Yola distribution company was successfully privatised and handed over to the core-investor in 2013, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the company, citing insecurity in the North-east region of the country.
Force Majeure is issued by a party in contract to inform other parties of their inability to deliver on their terms of contract due to unforeseen developments beyond its control.
Following the development, the company was duly repossessed by the federal government.
The transaction for Afam Power Generation Company on the other hand fell through due to the delay in signing the Gas Supply/Purchase Agreement (GSAA) and the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA).
In 2017, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) approved a fresh transaction to privatise the two power companies.
