The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu says it is unacceptable that Nigeria, a country with a population of over 200 million, can’t still produce 5,000 megawatts.
This was disclosed by the Minister while receiving members of the Civil-Military Committee on Energy Security, in his office on Wednesday, according to The Punch.
In a statement released on Thursday, by the minister’s media aide, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu said that he was unhappy with the rate at which the country’s power infrastructure is being vandalized.Vandals, according to him, destroy national assets and deny the government the capacity to supply households, industries, and other vital economic sectors with steady, reasonably affordable electricity.
He said the past leaders in the power sector failed to do the right thing in the past 60 years.
“It is shameful for a nation of over 200 million people to still be on 5,000MW of electricity at this age. Let me tell you that some of the transformers we are still using today are 64 years old. How do you want such to give you what you desire at this age? “Those maintaining them do not even understand them again. This is a reflection of the actions and inactions of the past 60 years. We have not done what is right in this sector in the past 60 years and that is what we are correcting now.
“So President Bola Tinubu desires to move away from this narrative and give Nigerians what they deserve in terms of energy and power supply and that is what we are set to achieve in the ministry now. “We want to eradicate energy poverty among Nigerians. Our focus now is to engender a new energy development for Nigeria that will make electricity available to all Nigerians, where they reside.
“The power sector is a priority to this government and when we get it right here, all other sectors will also get it right,” Adelani stressed.
He pointed out that the Federal Government has started taking steps to safeguard the country’s vital electrical infrastructure as it steps up efforts to give Nigerians access to reliable, affordable, and high-quality energy.
Adelabu stated that the Federal Government has been very concerned about the issue of vandalism and that it is being treated with the utmost seriousness.
Nigeria’s power sector continues to struggle with the problems posed by a shaky national grid, which frequently results in widespread blackouts.
