By Ogbonnaya Ruth
Nigeria’s youngest presidential candidate who is the standard bearer of Accord for the 2023 election, Prof Christopher Imumolen has lamented the current status of power in Nigeria and proffered modules for development.
Professor Imumolen during a recent media chat in Abuja, stated that the power sector has to be opened for local and international players, stressing that its current status of a stiffly regulated realm is not apt.
He said that more players are needed in the generation, transmission and distribution segments and that this deregulation has to be ensured by the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission, NERC, stressing as unfortunate the fact that Nigeria has only been able to cover 50% of the nation in terms power supply since inception.
Condemning Nigeria’s low generation capacity which stands at a dangling 6,000 megawatts despite the investment of hundreds of billions of naira naira by successive governments, he wondered where the about 5 billion dollars generated as tariff annually go to.
He therefore decried the spate of corruption in Nigeria’s power sector and others, pointing that for Nigeria to escape the abysmally low supply to homes and industries which stands at an average of 2 hours per day presently, corruption must be tactically killed, and the business of energy generation, transmission and distribution must be entrusted in the hands of professionals who know the business and not to political acolytes or clients.
“For a remarkable impact and success to be recorded in the power sector, it must be handled with govt sincerity as a vital sector tightly hinged to national development.
“With adequate power supply, a palpable economic vibrancy will be injected into the economy and Large, Small and Medium Enterprises will boom”, he buttressed.
Concluding, he emphasised the urgent need for a more friendly investment atmosphere in the power sector, such so attractive to players who will make power stable in Nigeria, describing as disgraceful Nigeria’s inability to provide adequate power for its citizens since 1960, saying that Nigeria can only attain overall productivity, prosperity and development when her sectors thrive.
Professor Imumolen has thus far played a lead role in the media presentation of his intentions for Nigeria even as the youngest presidential candidate of all.
His All for All political and campaign mantra greatly accentuates his regular Clarion declaration that Nigeria must prosper again through accountable leadership and patriotic citizenship.
