Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has declared that solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science.
Obi stated this while reacting to the incessant national grid collapse in the country that has time and again thrown several states in the North, South East and South-South and indeed across the country into darkness and rendered owners of small and medium scale enterprises helpless in the face of high cost of petroleum products.
Obi, in the reaction which was posted on this verified X handle @PeterObi on Sunday, bemoaned the fate that has befallen businesses and the impact it has on the owners.
He made reference to Egypt which he said, has revolutionalised the power sector by investing heavily in the sector and has therefore contributed immensely to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He then called on the government to ramp up efforts to provide both short and long term solutions to what he called “seemingly perennial energy problem”.
He wrote:
“The continued power outages in many parts of the country, particularly in the Northern and Eastern States, as well as South-South states, have remained a cause of grievous concern.
“It is heartbreaking to see that the affected states, majorly in the Northern parts of Nigeria, have been facing a total blackout for several days now.
“The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.
“This power crisis, when combined with the present high cost of petroleum products and a harsh operating environment, remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country.
“I have consistently maintained that solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science.
“Many of our comparable peer nations have demonstrated how possible it is to provide sustainable power for their citizens.
“Our African neighbour, Egypt, for example, invested aggressively in their power sector, which resulted in the establishment of a sustainable power infrastructure by way of many power stations. Today, Egypt has revolutionized power and energy production in the country, providing sustainable power to millions of small businesses, which account for over 90% of active enterprises in the country and contributes to over 80 percent of their GDP.
“My sincere thoughts are with everyone enduring these tough times in our nation.
“I call on the government to ramp up efforts and provide both immediate and long-term solutions to this seemingly perennial challenge.
“With adequate power supply, a New Nigeria is POssible. -PO”
