The House of Representatives Committee on Power has commended the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, for the improvement in power supply across the country, saying the measures he has taken so far are yielding positive achievements in the sector.
The Committee gave the commendation during an oversight visit to the ministry’s headquarters on Monday in Abuja. Led by its chairman, Honourable Victor Nwokolo, the Committee lauded the minister for the significant improvement, which it said has made businesses pick up compared to what has happened in the past
The chairman stated that there is much to be done to secure the power infrastructure, saying vandalism poses a major threat to sustaining the success recorded in the power supply.
“Let me commend the Minister on this milestone achievement. It is no longer the same old story. Today, we are seeing something different in the electricity supply across the country. A lot of businesses that were shut down for lack of power are now picking up and opening up again.
“However, Nigerians have to change their attitude to public infrastructure. It is disheartening to see how vandals destroy this infrastructure that is so expensive to build. I think we may need our local vigilantes to protect these facilities against these vandals. We cannot spend so much to achieve all these, and some people will just come overnight and steal them away.
“These achievements are laudable and commendable. A lot of people have lost hope on this power issue. But what you have done to restore this hope and confidence is highly commendable, and we hope and wish you and your team will sustain it,” he said.
The minister, while addressing the committee, said the power sector is key to the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed, adding that the president wants to see Nigerians enjoy a stable and constant electricity supply.
He expressed the readiness of the ministry to work and partner with the National Assembly to meet the objectives set by the President.
He appealed to the National Assembly to consider increased budgetary allocation to the ministry in view of the strategic importance of the ministry in the economy.
“The President, as we all know, is a listening person. His determination to ensure that Nigeria is redeemed and made to work for all of us is his determination. He understands our pain and honesty; he knows what we are all going through. But he is determined to ensure that what has hindered our development and growth as a nation is addressed once and for all.
“Without pain, there can be no gain. Some of the decisions that appear painful today are good for us tomorrow. Very soon, there will also be good news that you will take back to your constituents. Within the short period that this administration came on board, we have been able to increase the power generation to 5,155 megawatts from what we met at about 4,000 megawatts. Let me tell you that we have a power sector that is more active and vibrant now.
“Let me also inform you that the improvement we are witnessing now is not just because of the current rainfall, but because of our decisive and bold initiative. 80 per cent of our generation is from gas-powered generation, while 20 per cent is from hydro, so the rains have no input into the improvement we are witnessing now,” Adelabu said.
He called on the National Assembly to come up with legislation that would provide stringent punishment for power theft, power infrastructure vandalism, and electricity bill default.
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