‘Invest In The Power Sector Like Abia’ — Minister of Power Advises State Governments

Adebayo Adelabu

ACCORDING to Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, Ekiti and Enugu State have been given the authority to determine prices by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), while Abia State is among the governments that have invested in power.

Furthermore, he blamed the nation's frequent power outages on the actions of cartels and saboteurs in the electricity sector.

The Minister expressed this opinion on Tuesday, April 23, in Abuja, during a session titled “Addressing Nigeria's Power Challenges as the Nation Transitions to a Multi-Tier Electricity Market.”

The House of Representatives Committee on Power was in charge of organizing the event.

Adelabu stated that in an attempt to thwart measures to guarantee a steady supply of energy throughout the nation, saboteurs and cartels committed atrocities out of self-interest.

 

“We have saboteurs, cartels, and those who prefer to perpetrate evil for their selfish interests to frustrate our efforts,” the minister said

He declared that all efforts should be directed toward bringing Nigeria into the League of Productive Nations and that the country was exploring reserves that would end constant power outages.

According to him, the federal government was thinking of liberalizing the power industry.

“We also encourage the state government to invest in power generation in their states,” he said.

Adelabu stated that the Federal Executive Council, or FEC, had given Ekiti and Enugu State the right to impose tariffs, citing Abia State as one of the governments that had made an investment in power.

He voiced worry that a large number of investors in the industry were forced to function in the absence of private equity and instead had to rely on bank loans. He did, however, add that investors would eventually be expected to uphold appropriate operating standards for the industry's benefit.

Adelabu also discussed the federal government's intentions to work with state governments to improve rural electrification.

He emphasized that the completion of these projects was crucial for energy efficiency, pointing out that there were more than 100 incomplete power projects in the country.

In spite of its plentiful gas resources, Nigeria is unable to produce energy effectively, according to Kola Adeshina, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group.

He warned that the nation would find it impossible to function if energy was not given priority in the budget.

According to Adeshina, Nigeria possesses the means to double its output of electricity.

“If the executive brings an appropriation bill before you (lawmakers) and the power sector is not number two after defence, then don't allow it," he said.

He implored the government to give industrial areas top priority when allocating power.

“After the industrial areas have had light during the day, we can shift power at night to residential areas because production takes place during the day.

“Let's sequence our investment along the line of value-added. Nigerians are resilient, we are strong, and we have tenacity. Nigerians are tired of power collapse,” he said.