The Federal Government has been tasked to inaugurate the board of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN in order to impact operations in the power sector.

The board of the company involved in key activities, especially transmission and operations was constituted in January 2021.

Also, the letters of appointment of the board members newly constituted board members, which has Muhammad Ahmad as the Chairman, were signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

However, an investigation by The Daily, showed that the Minister of Power, Mamman Kwagyang Saleh is opposed to the board’s inauguration.

Nevertheless, a Port Harcourt-based Energy Analyst, Dr. Bala Zaka, said: “TCN occupies an important place in the sector, especially as it performs not only transmission but also operations. In carrying out such responsibilities, the role of a functional board cannot be ignored. But because of the lack of the board, the Minister of Power, a political appointee, has for a long time wielded undue influence on the activities of TCN.

“This is not proper as the board should be made up of seasoned technocrats with adequate capacity to impact on the operations of TCN and the sector. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to inaugurate the important board without further delay.”

Furthermore, President, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Mr. Kunle Kola Olubiyo, said: “If the board of TCN is inaugurated, it will results in having in place a Substantive Chairman and New Board Members, who in turn will select a new/substantive Managing Director/CEO of TCN and with attendant positive results. TCN is a bridge between generation and distribution, meaning that without transmission there would not be power for consumers in different parts of the nation. I happen to know much about TCN, especially as a member of the National Technical Investigative Panel on Power System Collapses/Systems Stability & Reliability in June 2013.

“We have an obsolete grid and poor maintenance of facilities, which affect the delivery of adequate and stable power to consumers. Although power generation is relatively high, a bulk of the power cannot be transmitted and distributed to consumers. The board members, therefore, would have many things to do. We know that members of the board have been constituted.

“A letter to that effect has come from the Presidency to the Ministry of Power, which has not yet deemed it fit to inaugurate it. I have spoken with some of the appointed members. I have also spoken with the Minister of Power, who believes that there is no point to inaugurate the board because of the ongoing moves to unbundle TCN. But it is one government and President Muhammed Buhari should make a declaration in order to give a direction.”