Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — As Nigeria continues to face a severe electricity crisis, with extensive blackouts plaguing the Southeast, Northwest, and Northeast regions in the past three weeks, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has put forward a comprehensive plan to address the pressing issue.
In his policy document titled, “My Covenant with Nigerians,” the former Vice President called for urgent government intervention to restore power to affected areas.
Atiku emphasized the need to remove the electricity value chain from the federal exclusive list, granting states the authority to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity independently, in a bid to tailor solutions to local conditions and needs.
He argued that federal industrial disputes should not impede state-level economic activities, and called for simultaneous investments in both power generation and the necessary transmission and distribution infrastructure to ensure that generated energy can be effectively utilized.
The strategy proposed by Atiku includes a balanced mix of renewable energy sources—such as hydro, solar, wind, and biofuels—alongside non-renewable options like coal and gas.
He also urged the encouragement of private investment in mini-grid systems that could eventually connect to the national grid.
“There is an urgent need to remove the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list and grant states the power to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity for themselves.
“I firmly believe that an industrial dispute with the Federal Government in the nation’s capital should not affect industrial activities in any of the states or cities of the country.
“Even as we focus on investments in additional generation, there’s a compelling need for capacity for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to transport the supplementary energy produced.
“I wish to restate my earlier recommendation to encourage private investors to invest in developing multiple green-field mini-grid transmission systems to be looped into the super-grid in the medium to long term,” Atiku Abubakar said.
