Yemie Adeoye
07 August 2012, Sweetcrude, LAGOS –WORRIED by the incessant aspersions on the government over its electricity reform agenda as well as constant power outages years after it launched the power roadmap, the government has called for the understanding of
Nigerians of government’s efforts at arresting the ugly situation.
Minister of Power Professor Bart Nnaji, made the plea at the annual Herbert Macaulay Memorial Lecture organised by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The Minister also took a swipe at the two main industrial unions in the power sector, the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and its senior staff counterpart, SSAEIC, accused them of selfishness and insensitivity.
In an effort to emphasize government’s passion for transparency, the Minister told his audience that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, now participates in the bid handling process, especially during the acceptance of the bidding documents.
He said: “Electricity has long been recognised as the fulcrum of modern development. In other words, modern civilisation is driven by electricity. Yet, electricity supply in Nigeria has over the decades been anything but satisfactory.
“The Nigerian press has an imagistic word for the performance of the power sector: epileptic. Still, electricity supply and the performance of the entire sector did not seize the popular imagination until 2010, despite the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform, ESPR, Act in 2005.
