04 November 2013, Abuja – Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power, Beks Dagogo-Jack, has expressed strong conviction that ongoing sweeping electricity market reform will translate in a drastic reduction in corruption in Nigeria.
Speaking on the hand over of power assets to new owners at the weekend, Dagogo-Jack said: “This successfully concluded power sector reform will in the near future lead to electricity adequacy which will re-energise our industrialisation and manufacturing investments for accelerated expansion of the real sectors of the economy.
This development, according to him, will in turn bridge the current and future unemployment gaps, broaden the size of our middle class, reduce poverty, restore human dignity and empower the citizenry to pursue more ennobling goals which include not just refusal to compromise because of need but also rise up enmasse when the occasion demands against corruption in the public sector.”
He said, “The transition of the sector to private sector mode is a major revolutionary impetus which if properly harnessed will snowball into huge positive socio-economic dimensions within a decade,” adding that the Jonathan administration deserves full commendation for staying the cause to this point in the face of several mitigating challenges and man-made obstacles on the way.
Asked if he has concerns about continued labour issues post-handing over, he said “I very much doubt so…the electricity labour force is quite satisfied and grateful for the magnanimity and integrity of this government in the transactions. The package offered labour by the government is the best you can find anywhere in the world.
In any case, we are not talking about labour from outer space these are Nigerians who are in darkness, whose children remain unemployed for years after graduating and who are subjected to buying second hand goods previously produced in Nigeria. I tell you they too are tired of the darkness and the backwardness.”
– This Day