Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has expressed grave concerns over the ongoing power crisis in Nigeria.
He highlighted the alarming frequency of national grid collapses, totaling 141 times in 11 years, and emphasized the urgent need for pragmatic solutions.
Obi pointed out that Nigeria’s current power generation capacity stands at a mere 13,000 megawatts (mw), while the demand exceeds 200,000mw. He further noted that out of the 13,000mw, only about 3,500mw are available for homes and businesses, placing Nigeria at the bottom in per capita wattage globally.
In an article titled “The Collapsing Electricity Sector,” Obi lamented the periodic system collapses, attributing them to avoidable situations such as fire outbreaks at critical transmission lines. He criticized the lack of managerial capability, which he believes has led to situations where the entire nation experiences prolonged blackouts due to a lack of diligent attention to the power infrastructure.
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Obi compared Nigeria’s electricity supply with that of competitor countries in Africa, such as Egypt and South Africa, which supply about 60,000mw and 58,000mw respectively, despite having smaller populations. He highlighted the massive implications of this energy disparity for human development and economic growth.
The former Governor identified two major challenges in the power sector: generation and transmission/distribution. He criticized the failure of the government over the past eight years to provide adequate gas infrastructure facilities, leading to irregular gas supply for power generation. He also mentioned the deterioration of transmission and distribution networks, lack of investment in modern technologies, and poor coordination between stakeholders as key issues.
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Obi called on the Federal Government to constitute a technical task force of professionals to diagnose and address the crisis in the power sector. He emphasized the need for quick wins in the short term and transformation in the medium to long term, urging the government to appoint competent leadership dedicated to resolving the sector’s challenges.
He concluded by stressing the importance of developing an integrated national electricity policy and implementation roadmap to ensure the rapid and expansive delivery of reliable, adequate, and affordable electricity. Obi emphasized that Nigeria cannot achieve economic growth in darkness and called for an end to the nation’s reliance on generators.
