APC chieftain seeks probe of incessant national grid collapse

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to set up a probe panel on the incessant national grid collapse.

Oyintiloye, while speaking with newsmen, yesterday, in Osogbo, said the incessant collapse of the grid was becoming worrisome and needed a presidential investigation panel.

According to him, the latest collapse that occurred last Thursday makes it the 12th time the national grid will collapse in 2024 alone. The grid collapse occurred on the same day the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, promised that the grid would achieve significant stability with the completion of phase one of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), also known as the Siemens project.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Oyintiloye, who emphasised the importance of electricity to the economy, said that the frequent collapses of the national grid were taking a negative toll on businesses in the country.

He said that there should be a presidential probe to investigate holistically what was responsible for the frequent collapses of the grid to restore sanity to the power sector.

Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), also said that for the grid to have collapsed 12 times within a year “shows something is wrong somewhere.” He said: “I believe that presidential investigation into this matter will unravel what the problem is and the possible lasting solution to it.

“The country is blessed with all the resources needed to keep the grid running, so why the collapse all the time? “The embarrassment must stop and sanity must be brought back to the power sector for the sake of our economy. If an act of sabotage is involved, that will be revealed through investigation.”

Oyintiloye said that at the end of the investigation, anyone found culpable of sabotaging the efforts of the government to ensure a stable power supply must be made to face the consequences.

He also urged the minister of power to put in more effort in ensuring that those responsible for the maintenance of the grid were up to their responsibilities. The former lawmaker said since Nigerians were already paying so much for electricity, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefits.