‘Compel Power Firms to List on NSE’

• ‘Compel Power Firms to List on NSE’

The Federal Government has been urged to compel power firms to list their shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as a way of encouraging more citizens to participate in the affairs of the firms.

The Chairman of the Board of Jaiz Bank Plc, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, stated this at the annual workshop of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers in Abuja on Wednesday.

The workshop had as its theme: ‘Transiting from recession to a global economic power: A working template for Nigeria’.

Mutallab called on the government to take the challenges in the power sector as a major priority, adding that currently, no one was happy with the performance of the sector.

He said prior to the privatisation of the power assets, expectations were high that the unbundling of the sector would provide the much needed efficiency in operation, thus leading to increased supply of electricity.

However, he regretted that with the low performance of the sector, it appeared that the objective of government in the privatisation of the power sector had not been fully realised

Mutallab stated, “There is a need to look at the power sector critically. Nobody is happy about the performance of this sector. The generation companies are not happy, the distribution companies are not happy.

“We know how important power is; there is a need to make these power companies to list on the stock exchange.”

The Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mounir Gwarzo, said the commission was implementing a 10-year master plan to reposition the capital market.

He said through the master plan, the commission was implementing the electronic dividend management system, reduction in transaction costs, whistle-blowing mechanism, responsive rulemaking and complaints management framework.