ADEBAYO Adelabu, the minister of power, is blaming poor development and rot of power sector on past administrations, stating that past efforts to transform the sector did not amount to anything.
News Point Nigeria reports that the minister stated this while hosting the World Bank delegation in his office in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to him, there has been a long neglect of power infrastructure from 1999 to date, which has contributed to the present rot in the sector.
Recalll Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari were presidents in the period mentioned.
Adelabu added, “We actually have a past that we are not proud of. Over the years, we have only been paying lip service to transforming the power sector. We have not worked the talk. Previous administrations in the last 25 years have kept on doing the same thing all the time and you cannot get different results for that, which is why we have decided to do things differently this time. In all the segments across the sector, we must run away from the past.
“How will you explain the kind of infrastructure that we put together for our transmission network across the country? Thousands of kilometers of power line, thousands of power transformers, hundreds of thousands of distribution transformers that we have not maintained over time and expect them to keep sustaining our energy supply. It is not possible.
“How do we allow our people to be vandalizing infrastructure and expect stable electricity? So how do you have a sector with over 12 million customers and our meter is not more than six million and we expect to have a stable industry? No, it’s not possible. So what has happened with past governments?
Adelabu recalled that in 1984, during the military regime, Nigeria achieved a 2000 megawatts, adding that between 1984 and 2023, it took Nigeria 40 years to add an additional 2000 megawatts.
He also disclosed that within one and a half years of President Tinubu-led administration, power generation has increased to an average of 5,800 megawatts.
“What I’m saying is that, if the past administrations have been adding things like this, we will not have this rot today. And that is why I said that President Tinubu is actually laying the kind of foundation that we need for our country to grow.
“We entered into Siemens contract since 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board. So you can now imagine since this President came in and now look at the mileage we have achieved. Even in this Siemens project, the pilot phase is almost completed and that is in less than two years, when in four years we didn’t do anything”, Adelabu said.
Adelabu commended the support that the sector has received from the World Bank and other partners and implore them to continue in that spirit to ensure that the investment of the current administration succeeds.
The Minister acknowledged the support of the Bretton Woods institution for its support.
“I want to thank you for the support, for the interest you have shown in the development of Nigeria power sector. It’s been of immense value to us. And I can imagine without the World Bank, how the sector would have looked like. So we really appreciate what you are doing for us. We’ve seen your support in transmission, we’ve seen your support in distribution, we have seen your support in renewable energy, almost in every facet, even in generation.”
He expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to the issue of power and reiterated the fact that the power sector is the vehicle that drives all the other sectors of the economy.
For him, one thing that this administration has brought to the table is the seriousness, the determination, the commitment to make sure that the power sector is transformed.
Commeding the leadership of president Bola Tinubu, the minister said, “that’s why it’s good to have a practical businessman, a practical finance person and politician at the helm of affairs, like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He fully understands what it takes for the transformation of a country.
“And he believes that energy is actually the foundation to transform all other sectors. There’s very little you can achieve in your agriculture sector, in your transportation sector, in your defense, education, health; without stable and efficient electricity supply. That is why the President is really focusing on this, and he is supporting whatever we need to do to make sure that we transform this sector. He is ready to give us that support.”