NIGERIA’s Minister of State for Power Goody Jeddy-Agba has called on media practitioners to ensure they play their role as the watchdog of the society through constructive criticism of the sector.
The minister made the call while delivering his speech at the 2021 Power Correspondent Association of Nigeria (PCAN) annual workshop held in Abuja on Thursday.
The theme of the workshop is: ‘Moving the Power Sector Beyond the Transition Electricity Matket.’
The minister, who also cautioned the media on sensational reporting, remarked that, “without the the press as the watchdog, not much progress would be made in governments transformation.”
“Report properly and give us feedback to make progress in the power sector,” he charged.
“There are issues with the various power sector value chains, but we’re working assiduously to address those concerns,” he further said.
The minister also noted that there were progress in the sector, but some developments were not pleasant to everyone.
The ICIR reports that Nigeria’s power sector is still faced with myriads of problems despite the privatisation exercise of November 2013.
Government has supported the sector through series of power sector interventions to the tune of about N1. 3trillion.
The minister, however , offered hope at the workshop, insisting that the government was evaluating the selected contractors that would deliver on the Siemens power deal.
He explained that the deal was expected to raise the National grid to 7,000 megawatts ( MW) within 20 months in the first phase.
It would be noted that the daily average electricity is presently at 4,000 MW with peak power hovering around 4,5000MW and occasionally 5,000MW. The nation’s installed transmission capacity is estimated at 12 000MW.
Thr Siemens Nigeria Electrification Roadmap was initiated on July 1, 2019, with an end-to-end model between the federal governments of Nigeria and Germany with a goal to securing a reliable and affordable electricity supply in the country.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.