The Nigerian House of Representatives has directed the Ministry of Power to take concrete actions aimed at solving the current nationwide blackout.
Members of the House Committee on Power, led by Magaji Da’u Aliyu lamented what they termed the seeming lackadaisical and fire brigade attitude of the Ministry towards power issues each time there is a national emergency.
Da’u Aliyu explained that there was nothing in the presentation to show that the Ministry was solving the problems.
He said; “There is nothing to show in this presentation that you are trying to resolve the problems. It is a mere speech and thesis and my heart bleeds for this country.”
Da’u Aliyu stated that the special interactive session was necessitated by the fact that Nigerians were facing the worst energy crisis in recent times, stressing that “the situation has affected businesses, both small and large, which is attracting huge public outcry and that Nigerians need urgent solutions to the problem.”
He said; ”There is nothing on ground to show that there will be light or generation of up to 5000 megawatts, but we keep hearing about 30,000 megawatts of installed capacity across the power stations.”
The Minister of Power Abubakar Aliyu represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Minister, Nebolisa Anoka had enumerated in chronological order.
Aliyu said the challenges facing the sector ranges from low gas supply, low hydro levels, high cost of gas, as well as disequilibrium between power generation, transmission and distribution which led to the collapse of the national grid and what the Ministry has doing to salvage the situation.
He explained that in response to the serious challenges facing power generation, the Ministry of Power recently hosted an emergency meeting with key stakeholders in the gas-to-power value chain, during which far reaching resolutions were arrived at on key measures needed to ameliorate the situation.
Aliyu said; “The challenges are not entirely predictable, but actions are being taken by the Federal Ministry of Power and other partner government MDAs to alleviate the challenges to the supply of electricity sustainability.”
He pointed out the issue of the right of way as stalling key transmission projects, promising that the ministry would increase sources of supply through renewables, with a target of 30 percent generation through renewables by 2030.
Reacting to the presentation, one after another, lawmakers who spoke lamented the unending projections by the Ministry that have never come to fruition.
They accused the Ministry and managers of the power sector of deliberate conspiracy and sabotage to discredit the current administration.
The committee finally directed the Permanent Secretary to go back, and return on Friday with more practical evidence of intended interventions, insisting that it was “more concerned with why there is no change.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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