Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has described Nigeria’s electricity generation of 5,000 megawatts as disgraceful for a country with a population exceeding 200 million. He made this statement while meeting with members of the Civil-Military Committee on Energy Security in his office on Wednesday.
In a statement from his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu expressed his frustration over the rampant vandalism of power infrastructure across the nation. He noted that such acts not only damage national assets but also hinder the government’s ability to provide stable and affordable electricity to homes, industries, and critical sectors of the economy.Adelabu criticized past leaders in the power sector for failing to implement necessary reforms over the last 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 highlighted that the Federal Government has initiated measures to safeguard the nation’s critical power infrastructure while intensifying efforts to deliver quality, stable, and affordable electricity to Nigerians.
Adelabu acknowledged that vandalism has been a significant concern for the Federal Government and assured that the issue is being addressed with the utmost seriousness it warrants.
This article was written by Tamaraebiju Jide, a student at Elizade University
