Former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has said that he will work to close the loop in Nigeria’s transmission system if he is made the country’s minister of power.
He stated this during his ministerial screening at the National Assembly on Tuesday, August 1, when asked what he would do to improve the country’s electricity crisis.
According to El-Rufai, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a vision to end power outages in the country within seven years and if he is made the power minister, he would ensure that goal is met.
He stated that the power supply challenge has defied every president in the country, he however expressed faith in the president’s ability to tackle the challenge. He said:
- “Tinubu is committed to ensuring that Nigeria has a stable and reliable electricity supply. The president’s vision is that within seven years we will not have power outages in this country.
- “Generation stations cannot produce because of poor supply of natural gas. 80% of our power generation is from gas and the rest is hydro. The gas-fired station often does not have a supply of gas.
- “There are power stations that were completed three years ago but have produced nothing because there is no gas supply. You must ensure that gas and power are together under one roof.
- “We need to close the loop in our transmission system.”
Some of Tinubu’s pre- and post-election power sector plans
In the president’s manifesto from the time of his presidential campaign, it was stated that Tinubu will support power projects that can be delivered quickly to optimize power grid reliability, grid interconnectedness, and grid wheeling like the ongoing Siemens power deal, which targets increase in Nigeria’s power transmission and distribution capacity.
- Alongside other goals, the manifesto also stated that Tinubu will insist on a Nigeria-first policy. This policy will enable gas resources to be harnessed on a priority one basis to be used to generate power.
- During his inauguration, Tinubu promised accessible and affordable electricity to all Nigerians. He said that during his tenure, power generation will nearly double, and transmission, as well as distribution networks, will be improved.
- Tinubu also said that his administration will encourage states to develop local electricity sources as well. Shortly after that, he signed the Electricity Act into law, empowering states to generate, distribute and transmit their own electricity, while encouraging various kinds of power generation. The signing was based on the constitutional amendment facilitated by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
You are already eyeing power? What a stupid talk. Just say you are looking for where to steal. If Fashola could not achieve it in 8 years, who are you to achieve that? Kaduna became a disaster under you with your bigotry and Islamic mindset. I pity Nigeria. There will be a great purge sooner than later and all of you who have undermined development in this country will feel the wrath of the people. We are taking account.