The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has attributed Nigeria’s erratic power supply to cartels and saboteurs. Adelabu made this assertion during a program titled ‘Confronting Nigeria’s Power Challenge as the Nation Migrates to a Multi-Tier Electricity Market’ held in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Adelabu, these saboteurs and cartels are actively frustrating the efforts of the federal government to achieve a stable electricity supply in the country. He emphasized the need for collective efforts to propel Nigeria into the league of productive nations, stating that the country is aiming to develop reserves that would eliminate frequent power collapses.
He said: “We have saboteurs, cartels, and those who prefer to perpetrate evil for their selfish interests to frustrate our efforts.”
In a bid to address the power challenge, Adelabu disclosed that the federal government is contemplating the liberalization of the power sector and encouraging state governments to invest in power generation within their states.
He singled out Abia State as one of the states that has made significant investments in power generation. Furthermore, Adelabu revealed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has granted Ekiti and Enugu states the right to generate tariffs.
Under the new approach, states will be responsible for power generation, transmission, and supply, as well as trading and system operations.
Expressing concern over the current situation, the Minister noted that many investors did not bring their private equity into the sector, resorting instead to borrowing money from banks to operate. However, he expressed optimism that with time, investors would be compelled to operate in the sector in the right manner, ultimately benefiting the power sector and the nation at large.
