By Seun Ibiyemi
President Bola Tinubu has initiated plans to establish a Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO) as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s electricity transmission network and address persistent challenges in the power sector.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Wednesday after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by the president at the State House in Abuja.
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Idris said the proposal was contained in a memorandum presented to the council by Tinubu for deliberation, noting that the initiative was designed to address critical gaps in the country’s electricity value chain, particularly within the transmission segment.
“You recall that since the deregulation of the power sector, the sector is divided into three categories: generation, transmission and distribution,” he said.
“The president has seen that where the problem is mainly in our quest to solve the power problem is largely in the transmission section.”
According to the minister, FEC approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to develop the operational framework for the proposed Grid Asset Management Company.
He said members of the committee would include the Ministers of Power, State for Gas, Works, Finance, Science and Technology, as well as the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The committee, he explained, would examine regulatory, legal and investment issues associated with the initiative, including the interests of existing investors and operators in the power sector.
Idris added that the committee’s recommendations would be transmitted to the National Assembly where legislative approval may be required for the implementation of the proposal.
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“The President feels that for us to actually industrialise, the power sector must be fixed. That is why he has taken this initiative of looking at how this Grid Asset Management Company will be set up,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister also disclosed that FEC approved an additional exit benefit package for retiring civil servants under the Pension Reform Act.
He said the measure would allow eligible retirees in treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to receive up to 100 per cent of their total emoluments under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
According to Idris, the decision is expected to boost morale and enhance efficiency within the federal civil service.
