Ezekwesili promises stable electricity if elected president

Presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria Obiageli Ezekwesili has promised to deliver uninterrupted power supply to Nigerians if elected president in 2019.

Ezekwesili, a former education minister under president Olusegun Obasanjo administration said her administration would ensure Nigeria have stable electricity in the first four years of her government.

“Our vision is to provide sustainable, affordable and uninterrupted electricity supply to all Nigerian towns and villages, starting with Nigerian cities,” Ezekwesili said in a statement.

Ezekwesili said stable electricity would aid business growth in Nigeria.

She explained that “From 1999 till date, all the projections made by successive governments to grow the supply of electricity to Nigerians, to either 6,000MW, 10,000MW or 20,000MW, have not been realised.

According to her, “The citizens’ desire and willingness to pay an appropriate price of electricity consumed is seen in generators of all shapes and sizes and how much they pay to operate and service these machines.”

While lamenting on the amount of monies companies and business owners spend on powering their businesses, Ezekwesili said her government would focus on the power sector.

She said, “The low power availability from the national grid has meant that corporate entities have to divert a large amount of funds from their core productive areas of focus to this critical area of reliable power supply.”

“The price of this is paid in not being competitive and great loss of production capacities, which further impoverishes the populace.”

“Our vision is to ensure that the Nigerian electricity supply industry becomes fully functional, vibrant and employs hundreds of thousands of young Nigerians, in both the on-grid and off-grid segments,” Ezekwesili said.

Currently, Nigeria produces 7000 megawatts of electricity according to the government but has been countered by power experts who said the country was still on 3000 megawatts. Ezekwesili said there would be an increase.

She said, “This electricity will be aimed at facilitating and growing business, commercial and industrial activities, in a drive to create jobs and increase productivity. Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is among the lowest in the world and far lower than many other African countries,” Ezekwesili said.

However, this was not the first time a presidential candidate would promise stable electricity supply if elected president, current president Muhammadu Buhari administration did the same in 2015.

The former governor of Lagos State and current power, works and housing minister Babatunde Fashola in 2014, said a serious government would fix power challenges within six months. Over three years since the election, the power supply is yet to be stable in Nigeria.