The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed Engr. Dr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), with effect from the 4th of April, 2022.
Until his confirmation, Engr. Dr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz was the Acting Managing Director of TCN from 19th May 2020 to 4th April, 2022, responsible for the overall supervision of the affairs of TCN, including transmission projects, transmission network operations and maintenance, system operations, market administration, human resources management and as the Chief Accounting Officer.
Under his watch as the Ag. MD/CEO, TCN made milestone achievements in projects execution and delivery, stable grid management, and human resources management that optimized personnel performance and productivity. Working with an Executive Management consisting of four Executive Directors, Engr Abdulaziz embarked on projects initiatives and execution that significantly transformed TCN from a faltering successor company in the post-privatization era to a viable national and sub-regional transmission company. This is hardly surprising as Engr Dr. Abdulaziz brought to bear his over 25-years of engineering experience and responsibility as a tested project manager.
TCN’s numerous achievements in areas of projects execution and delivery before his confirmation are attributable to sound leadership and keen focus on grid expansion, rehabilitation, and maintenance as well as stability and reliability in the transmission of bulk power in the country, through the systematic implementation of the flagship strategy program- The Nigeria Electricity Grid Maintenance, Expansion and Rehabilitation Program (NEGMERP), which he put in place to guide the execution of capital and reinforcement projects across the transmission regions in the country while still giving priority to the maintenance of the existing infrastructure.
Engr. Dr. Abdulaziz has demonstrated deftness in project execution and fund management as he ensured that all projects under donor-funded schemes are professionally supervised by specialized units of the company called Project Management Units (PMUs). The execution of the donor sponsored projects have progressed extensively and the milestones delivery are as scheduled. The Abuja feeding scheme Project for instance which consists of one new 330kV line, two 330/132kV, and three 132kV transmission substations has progressed extensively and will be ready for commissioning by the end of the third quarter of 2022. The World Bank – sponsored NETAP project has also made remarkable progress as all procurement process has been concluded and most of the packages are at the project implementation stage, worthy of note is the recent delivery of 5 no 150MVA 330/132kV and 10 no 60MVA, 132/33kV Transformers at the same timr to TCN Central Stores at Ojo Lagos (some have been moved to substation sites across the country for installation), a very significant achievement in the history of the power sector in Nigeria.
His collaborative and non-coercive management approach has engendered synergy and consultation among sister agencies and other sector players who are now recognized as TCN customers and partners in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), contrary to what was the case. Special attention is now dedicated to resolving Disco-TCN interface issues to ensure seamless delivery of bulk power to the load centers nationwide.
Engr. Abdulaziz has also distinguished himself as a skilled human resources manager who has brought industrial harmony to TCN and has continued to maintain a non-interference and non-divisive policy in dealing with labor unions and union matters. He has equally enhanced capacity development by strategically investing in the training and retraining of staff to bridge skill gaps among others.
Before becoming the Acting MD/CEO of TCN, Dr. Abdulaziz was the General Manager (Projects) at the corporate headquarters, subsequently he became the Regional Transmission Manager of Shiroro and Abuja Regions of TCN with responsibility for various operational and managerial functions including the wheeling of bulk power to the Distribution Companies (Discos); coordination and supervision of equipment maintenance and repairs, transmission network reliability, security and expansion; inventory and stock management, maintaining fiscal responsibility and accountability of the regional offices.
In his over 25 years of cognate experience in project management, administration, and fund management, the seasoned project engineer led the initiation and development of various strategic projects such as the Construction of 2×30/40MVA, 132/33KV Substation at Talata Mafara; Construction of 2x60MVA, 132/33KV Substation at Keffi, Daura and Kukwaba (Abuja Stadium), Kurfi, Kurfi; Malumfashi, Dustin-Ma, Kankara, Daura, Gagarawa, Lalante, and Igangan; Construction of 1x150MVA 330/132KV Substation at Maiduguri and Construction of 2x150MVA, 330/132/33KV Substation at Katsina; to mention a few.
Since becoming the Ag MD/CEO of TCN, Engr. Dr. Abdulaziz has been the Chairman of the Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and under his guided leadership of the sub-regional body, the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the commencement of the North Core Project which is a transmission project that is aimed at interconnecting Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria for cross-border electricity trade was recently held in Niger.
Engr. Dr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz is a thoroughbred professional who is a registered Power Engineer with COREN and a Fellow of both the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Nigeria Institute of Power Engineers (NIPE). He is also a chartered member of the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). He holds a Master of Science in Electronics/Automation Engineering from the Technical University in Sofia, Bulgaria. Engr. Abdulaziz has attended several training and self-developmental courses in the general field of engineering and electrical engineering both in Nigeria and abroad in the following nonexclusive areas: Engineering Project Management and Execution; Design, Operation, and Maintenance of High Voltage Power Equipment; System Planning and Analysis; and Effective and Strategic Procurement.
The confirmation of his appointment we believe, would positively impact the Power Sector and also entrench continuity in TCN. We at TCN are excited at this development and wish Engr. Dr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz a fruitful and successful tenure as we pledge our support and cooperation to his leadership.
Ndidi Mbah
GM, Public Affairs
13/4/22
