THE Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria can produce 16,000 megawatts of electricity within a four-year period.
Obi, who was a guest this evening on a programme on Channels Television, said that his visit to Egypt helped to deepen his insights on how to resuscitate Nigeria’s deep-seated power problems.
Nigeria’s grid collapsed for the sixth time this year, with the most recent experience on July 20, 2022.
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Obi, who said he took home lessons from Egypt’s power system, noted that the North African nation increased its power generation, transmission and distribution from about 20,000 to over 55,000 today, within a five-year period.
Comparing that experience with Nigeria’s generation of around 4,000mw, the former Anambra state governor explained how he interviewed the company that did the project, its Chief Executive Officer, the power holding company of Egypt and other agencies involved on how they were able to improve their power generation capacity within a short time.
He said, “All I can tell you is that what happened in Egypt can happen here. My commitment is that Nigeria is able to generate, transmit and distribute 16,000mw within a four-year period of the government. In Egypt, their target was five years, but it happened under three years. It is possible, but it just has to be holistic and followed religiously.”
The LP presidential candidate, highlighting how important power was for growth, stressed that Nigeria should be doing around 30,000mw. To him, half of that capacity can even be secured in a four-year presidential tenure.
Meanwhile, electricity workers, under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), have resolved to join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in its solidarity protest over the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
The strike has been scheduled for July 26 and 27, 2022.
Experienced Business reporter seeking the truth and upholding justice. Covered capital markets, aviation, maritime, road and rail, as well as economy. Email tips to jolaoluwa@icirnigeria.org. Follow on Twitter @theminentmuyiwa and on Instagram @Hollumuyiwah.