El-Rufai calls for credibility in fixing Nigeria’s power sector

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El-Rufai calls for credibility in fixing Nigeria’s power sector

Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-rufai in Kaduna, Thursday, said the present administration will restore credibility and consistency to fix the nation’s epileptic power sector for the implementation of change agenda to Nigerians.
Governor El-Rufai, while speaking at the Second Edition of the National Council on Power held in Kaduna, said to ensure viable power supply in the country, there was need for proper restructuring of National
Electricity Regulatory commission (NERC) with credible people.

He said unless that was done, potential energy private investors would continue to shy away from investing in the sector.

Governor El-rufai lamented the poor regulatory policy framework of the power sector, noting that currently the distributing companies had huge debt.

The governor who passed vote of confidence on the minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola to fix the power sector, urged the minister to take drastic steps to address the policy plan of the ministry to ensure stable and uninterrupted power supply in the country.

“One of the reasons why it has failed in my opinion, while communication and telecommunication sector have succeeded is because of the kind of people that were appointed to be the regulators at the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission,” he noted.

According to him, then at the Bureau of Public Enterprise BPE, measures were taken to train people that would be the foundation staff of the agency.

“But unfortunately, those that came after us politicized the appointments and put people that lack the capacity, the knowledge or the competence to regulate the sector,” he explained.

According to El-Rufai, the last administration’s power reforms had failed.

“We are back to where we are in 2001-2002. We are generating the same amount of electricity.

“We did not attract any foreign investment into the sector because the regulatory frame work is not working and lacks credibility.

“The decision by National Electricity Eegulatory Commission in March last year to reduce tariff just to help President Jonathan win? elections destroyed any sense of independence and credibility of the commission”, he added.

He further appealed to the minister to ensure that people appointed into the NERC would be professionals without any political linkages.

“That is the only way the sector will attract private investment, and we all know that we cannot solve electricity problems with government money alone, we need private investment.

“We couldn’t solve the telecoms problems with NITEL alone even after sinking billions of dollar.

“We had to open up the sector to have independent regulators, MTN, Econet, Glo and everyone came and now every Nigerian has a phone,” he said.?