Engineers want restrictions on electricity meters lifted

Nigeria’s engineers Adhoc Committee on the Presidential Power Initiative has urged the federal government to liberalise the electricity sector, and ensure that more vendors are certified to go into meter supply after certification through the necessary agencies of government.

Chairman, Ikeja branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Tosin Ogunmola made the plea at the inauguration of the committee where he noted that Nigerians shouldn’t have to go through hassles before they get meters for their homes.

The Adhoc Committee which consists, nine distinguished members of the NSE was occasioned by the appointment of the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Babagana Mohammed into the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Presidential Power Initiative by the President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ogunmola explained that without pre-empting the work of the committee, issuing out meters is one of the key solutions to the sector because once meters are issued out; Nigerians would only pay for what they consume. He said that would put providers of services in the sector on their toes to ensure good service and be able to recoup their investment.

“This will be one of the technical propositions to be put forward, and that would encourage many engineers to obtain a license, and be certified by the government for manufacturing of meters. We have to a very large extent struggled with power in Nigeria. Till now we are still not generating 10,000mw and this is a nation of over 200 million people. As a matter of fact, we can’t talk about industrialisation if power is not fixed. Government is thinking in the right direction by ensuring that we have engineers in the high-powered panel.

The political will to do the needful is important”, he said.

Ogunmola said the Committee which the managing director of Kenol Nigeria ltd, Olu Ogunduyile as chairman and Mrs Tinuke Owolabi as Secretary among others, will put forward position papers within three weeks which thereafter would be presented to the President of the NSE in Abuja.

According to him, the committee is made up of eminent experts in the Power sector consisting of top executives of major stakeholders in the sector with the mandate of deriving a position paper of technical propositions and advisories that will serve as a primary guide to the SPV in carrying out its mandate towards the realization of the objectives of the Presidential Power Initiative.

Speaking virtually at the inauguration, Babagana Mohammed, described the initiative by its Ikeja branch as laudable stressing that it would engender an enduring framework on the all-important sector of the economy.

Mohammed advised members to do a thorough proposition for the development of Nigeria promising that the society would give them the needed support.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee Olu Ogunduyile told The Guardian that with the input of engineers in the power sector, it would make the Executive Order 5 of the Federal Government to be effective while a lot of engineers and Nigerians would be empowered when the power sector is working.

“ We will look at how to partner people from abroad to be able to ensure that there is a regular supply of power in the country and development of industries. The metering issue is not a problem if the government supports Nigerian engineers, brings people to assemble the meters in Nigeria, empower them and make meters available to the people”, he stated.