Other Pages
- Opinion Poll
- About Us
- Send Your Story
- Contact Us
- Newsletter
- Privacy Policy
- Terms and Conditions
Electricity-transformer
Nigeria is the giant of Africa both in population and economic capacity. But the significant challenge in the power sector the country has been facing for decades is hinging its economic prosperity.
Nigeria’s rank as the largest oil producer in Africa is not helping matters. Instead, successive governments have made electricity unreliable.
When Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the Minister of Works, appeared on TVC a few days before the 2023 general elections, he said he never said Nigeria would witness standby electricity in Muhammadu Buhari’s first six months in office as president.
He acquiesced that he only might have said it would drastically improve nationwide in the administration’s first six months.
Whether improvement or sudden good fortune, Nigerians have not witnessed any of the promises in all honesty.
Meanwhile, Inadequate power supply affects all aspects of the country's national development.
The incoming administration must fix power if it wants to open a progressive chapter for Nigeria’s sustainable development.
The failure of Bola Tinubu’s administration to fix electricity and power generation in Nigeria will lead to a decrease in economic growth, low manufacturing output, and lower investment in all sectors.
Therefore, it is important to face Nigeria's persistent electricity problem now more than ever.
AllNews Nigeria gives an insight into combating the menace by the incoming Tinubu administration.
Between 1999 and 2010, Nigeria reportedly spent over N4.7 trillion on power.
Still, the country is in darkness. The development means two things.
That the money pumped into the sector is not enough or the money was not properly spent.
To address this menace, Tinubu’s government needs to invest more money and ensure that it is used for what it is meant for.
Bola Tinubu’s administration must increase investments in power infrastructure.
Significant allocations from the annual budgets should be reserved for the power sector, and more foreign direct investment should be embraced.
If Bola Tinubu can prioritise power by earmarking more funds into the power sector to upgrade the existing power infrastructure, Nigeria will record significant improvements in capacity, reliability, and efficiency in the sector.
The world is changing rapidly fast. Therefore, Bola Tinubu and his leadership should invest in how to explore renewable energy options such as solar, sustainable hydropower, and wind.
Nigeria is a blessed nation with sufficient renewable energy sources.
Whether wholistically or intensively, if the administration can harness the energy sources, it will lessen the burden on our primary source of electricity, and improve it in the process.
Nigerians need to call on the government to turn keen attention to supporting the field of renewable technology and provide tax incentives to investors.
Nigerians will also appreciate a government that can subsidise power generation in Nigeria and attract private sector investments as we have it in the telecommunication industry.
On September 13, 2013, following the privatisation process initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, PHCN ceased to exist. In its stead, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was formed.
One would hope that the singular action which generated many pushbacks at the time would change Nigeria’s electricity fortune, but the reverse is the case.
Privatisation has not worked.
Therefore, Bola Tinubu’s administration should revisit the modalities behind privatising the power sector.
Ordinary Nigerians have hardly benefitted from the process 10 years after the controversial decision.
If the government cannot take back power, it should enforce the dissolution of the monopoly in the power sector.
We have also carefully proffered other solutions that will help the new regime that will be sworn in on May 29; find them in the second part of this report.
0 Comment(s)