Ayade asks FG to hands off power transmission to achieve steady electricity

Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, has called on the Federal Government to hands off power transmission in the country for Nigeria to have steady power supply. 

Ayade made the call, yesterday, in an interview with newsmen in Calabar, saying: “The energy mix of Nigeria is dysfunctional because you cannot use gas to fire turbines to be able to generate electricity. It is a bit medieval.”

Ayade, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said: “Government should hands off power transmission because the vertical mercantile structure that has a guarantee from World Bank that guarantees that whether you take electricity or not, you must pay, has created a situation where people luxuriate on that and make money without power generation. 

“Nigeria is relying on this captive transmission line, dedicated under the monopoly of the Federal Government, its inadequacies bring this national power challenges.” 

He noted that a small country like Qatar exports gas as its core business and has become number one exporter of ammonia and wondered why Nigeria could not build her ammonia plant and power fertiliser plant with gas.