By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), has assured that with the various interventions by the Federal Government in the power sector, consumers in the country will soon have quality and improved electricity supply.
Director-General of BPE, Mr. Alex A. Okoh who gave the assurance at a one-day Roundtable Discussion on Power, organized by the Senate Committee on Power with the theme: Addressing Nigeria’s Power Problems, said one of such interventions is the Presidential Power Initiative aimed at bridging the infrastructure gaps in the sector.
Defending the power privatization, the DG said it was successfully executed and likened it to a patient who successfully underwent a surgery but could not survive because of post-surgery issues.
He said that prior to privatization, electricity supply in the country was like a social service funded by the government and now that it is in the hands of the private sector efforts must be made to make up the funding gap.
According to a statement by the BPE Head of Public Communications, Amina Tukur Othman, the Senate President, Dr Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan while declaring the event open, called for an emergency in the power sector and urged discussants at the Roundtable to exhaustively deliberate the issues bedeviling the sector with a view to finding solutions.
Lawan stated that if there is the need by the National Assembly to amend the power sector reform bill, the lawmakers would not hesitate to do so given that power was the driver of Nigeria’s economy.
The country, he said needed the political will to tackle its power issue and that there was no need playing the ostrich as all the issues in the sector were well known.
He said that the launch of the African continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by the Federal Government would be a mirage if the power situation in the country is epileptic as manufacturers in the country “will abandon the country to neighboring countries while inferior goods will flood the Nigerian market”.
Minister of Power, Mallam Saleh Mamman in his remarks pledged the ministry’s collaboration with the National Assembly to provide efficient and reliable power supply to Nigerians.
Senate Committee Chairman on Power, Senator Gabriel Torwua Suswam said the decision to hold the Roundtable Discussion arose from the resolution of Senate at plenary to look into the issues confronting the power sector in the country.
He regretted that Nigeria with the second-highest population in the world lacked adequate power supply and this has impinged on her developmental efforts.
The event attracted various stakeholders in the power sector.
