FG reveals cause of recent epileptic power

- The federal government apologised for the hardship poor power imposed on Nigerians

- Alhaji Lai Mohammed in a statement revealed what caused the recent power problems

- Nigeri's power supply reduced from 5,074 MW to about 4,000MW

The federal government has revealed the cause of epileptic power supply in the country.

The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement issued on March 11, in Abuja, published on the Facebook page of APC London, attributed the poor power supply to gas failure as well as sabotage and vandalization of the power infrastructure.

READ ALSO: Electricity supply drops below 2,000MW

The minister, who tendered an unreserved apology to Nigerians for the hardship caused by the development, said efforts are being made to resolve the situation and ensure a gradual improvement in the power situation.

“There will be a decent improvement in the power situation from this weekend, thanks to ongoing remedial efforts that will double the current power supply to 4,000WM. Getting back to the 5,074MW all-time high that was reached earlier will take a few more weeks,” he said.

Mohammed explained that the routine maintenance embarked upon by the Nigeria gas company affected the supply of gas to power stations, reducing power supply from an all-time high of 5,074 MW to about 4,000 MW, adding that a combination of unpleasant incidents further crashed the power supply to about half that figure.

“The vandalization of the Forcados export pipelines forced oil companies to shut down, making it impossible for them to produce gas. Then, workers at the Ikeja Discos, who were protesting the disengagement of some of their colleagues after they failed the company’s competency test, apparently colluded with the National Transmission Station in Osogbo to shut down transmission.

“Finally, the unfortunate strike by the unions at the NNPC, over the restructuring of the Corporation, shut down the Itarogun Power Station, the biggest in the country. Due to these factors, only 13 out of the 24 power stations in the country are currently functioning. It is this same kind of unsavoury situation that has affected fuel supply and subjected Nigerians to untold hardship,” Mohammed said.

He lamented a situation whereby some Nigerians, under the umbrella of different oil and gas unions or absolute vandalism, will always be sabotaging the nation’s power infrastructure.

READ ALSO: Buhari advised to take over Ministry of Power

“The bitter truth is that for as along as these groups of Nigerians continue to sabotage the power infrastructure, Nigerians cannot enjoy a decent level of power supply. We therefore admonish all Nigerians who may be agitating for their rights in whatever form to refrain from any action that will further hurt the same people they claim to be protecting,” Mohammed said.

Nigerians should be hopeful of an uninterrupted power supply as The Punch reports that Africa’s richest man and the president of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, revealed that by 2018, his company should be able to generate about 12,000 megawatts of electricity for Nigeria. He made this known at the Nigerian Economic Summit which was organised by Economist Events in Lagos on March 7.

Meanwhile, power sector workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies on Monday picketed the head office of the Ikeja Electric over the sacking of 400 workers of the company. The union last week Tuesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of the company to recall the disengaged workers or face industrial action.

Source: Legit.ng