22 August 2013, Abuja – The newly registered All Progressives Congress, APC, has disclosed its determination to end power outage in Nigeria by generating 40,000 megawatts, MW, of electricity between four and eight years if elected into office.
This is part of the party’s 31-page manifesto unveiled Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
The party also disclosed plans to liberalise monopoly of power generation and supply, pledging efficient tariff.
“Power is the centre-point of the development process. All other indices of development anchor on power and energy. The failure to make power supply efficient has impacted negatively on the economy. It has made the cost of production and business high and has invariably raised the cost of agricultural produce and other finished goods and services thereby thwarting the growth of our economy,” the party said.
it continued: “The crisis in the power sector is one of the major causes of the present collapse of the industrial sector and the inability of small-scale industries to thrive. To kick-start industrial growth in the country, stable and affordable power supply is an absolute necessity.
“The APC Government shall vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000 megawatts in four to eight years. The party will also work assiduously at making power available from renewable energy sources, such as coal, solar, hydro, wind and biomass for domestic and industrial use, wherever these prove viable”.
It stated that “as a matter of pressing priority and urgency”, it would “tackle the paralysing lapses with electric power generation, distribution and supply, resolve all stalemate around the reform of the power sector and develop a transparently agreed power generation and distribution milestones with clear timelines and targets, and liberalise the monopoly of the Federal Government in power generation and supply”.
The gas and thermal stations will particularly be encouraged to increase their supply capacities, the APC said, adding that alternative power sources, including hydro, solar, coal and wind energy, would be explored and developed.
According to it, regular Turn Around Maintenance of existing facilities would be done to ensure steady and uninterrupted utility supply while an aggressive and efficient tariff/ revenue recovery system would be pursued.
“All avenues of waste, corruption and abuse will be checked. Rural electrification will continue to be encouraged. Improve management efficiency of the nation’s distribution system, improve commitment to consumer service and sensitise a national energy conservation and maintenance culture on electricity supply,” the party further stated.
