Power sector: The glimmer of hope
By Segun Imohiosen
Let’s face it; the power project in Nigeria appears to be one ‘no go’ area considering the crisis that has gutted that sector and also with the current Elumelu palaver. Unreliable power situation is one of the biggest impediments to research and development in the country. The controversy and the unending debate that are associated with the power sector have come to show that it is one sector that if properly harnessed will bring about the long awaited change in Nigeria. Owing to the importance of power in terms of human development, the epileptic and erratic nature of power supply has not allowed this sector to enjoy any favourable response from the public. Adequate and reliable power supply is an essential requirement for the socio-economic development of any nation. In this regard, a lot of industries have gone under, especially the textile industry that used to employ a lot of people thus making a number of Nigerians jobless. In the erstwhile administration, huge sums of money were earmarked for the sector as it were, yet the story remained the same as nothing appreciable seemed to have evolved from all of that effort.
However, Yar’ adua designated power as priority number one on the administration’s Seven-Point agenda even though as it is the question in the lips of many is if this kind of priority is put into power, why are we still in the debacle of power outage almost every time. In spite of all the inadequacies, the Ministry of Power owes it as a responsibility to the citizenry to discharge it as a matter of national duty in agreement with other line agencies.
The efforts of the government cannot be overemphasised in the attempt to make sure that this problem becomes a thing of the past. Disappointingly though, a group of people within the system has been working to counter the success of the efforts of the government. It is of course the statutory responsibility of the government to fish out this few that have been stalling the move to the realisation of the stable power supply. It must be realised that when Elumelu came up as the Chairman House Committee on power then with his probe onslaught that gave him the nickname “power whiz kid” in some quarters, one would have assumed that by now, if power is not totally restored to stability, it would be reasonable in terms of generation no matter what. However, reverse is the case. The entire thing appeared to have become worse than what was obtaining before now. Be that as it may, the government is doing its best possible to make sure that this moribund situation is addressed, dealt with and solved in the best possible way. For instance the inauguration of the Vice President Committee to complete the NIPPPs started by the erstwhile government of General Obasanjo is also a step in the right direction. In order to complement the effort of the federal government, it is clear that the state and local government agreed that the accrued excess crude account belonging to them should be channelled towards achieving the success of the power project. Also, since the inauguration of this committee, the governors of the oil producing states that are members of this committee who by virtue of the fact that this power projects are located in their domain have been working round the clock by visiting the power plants to ensure timely completion.
Mr. president has given the Minister of Power Olarewaju Babalola a blank cheque and to step on any toe regardless whose horse is gored to make sure that the 6,000 megawatts generation target for December 2009 is realisable. We should also not shy away from the fact that government’s move to realise this vision led to the sack of the board of PHCN for gross ineptitude, incompetence and the show of abandonment. A note of attention here is that the erstwhile government had earlier sacked this group before the administration of Mr. President reappointed them due to the possibility that they were unduly sacked with the believe that they may have learnt their lessons. However, it only went to show that the people were indeed not capable to handle the assignment which eventually led to their sack second time around. Also the arrest of the NERC chairman Dr. Ransome Owan and his Commissioners for fraud on the power project are yet another of government’s intent to make sure power is achieved.
Considering the recent interview of Mr. President on the power issue with the Guardian newspaper, the passion of Yar’Adua for the nation on power was showcased in clear terms as follow: “We have a plan to generate 6,000 megawatts by December this year and also to generate 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2011. Not only to generate this but to ensure that the power generated is transmitted and distributed. These plans we have begun to implement simultaneously by doing all the rehabilitation that we need to do; the critical transmission lines that we need to repair because the transmission lines that we have; the integrity of transmission and distribution lines has been very poor. Over the years; just like generation itself, there has not been major maintenance. So we are doing that now in the programme. Besides, we are constructing new transmission lines to ensure that we achieve the plan of transmitting the 6,000 megawatts and by 2011 the transmission of 10,000 megawatts. These two programmes we have begun to implement with PHCN programme and NIPP programme. What we are doing now is supervising the projects that are on-going making sure that everything is okay. Even with all the problems associated with it, we are tackling them and I am confident, fully confident, that this target will be met. And I have asked the minister and the power committee to work out the period and pace we need to generate not less than 25,000 megawatts by the target period of 2020. I have no doubt in my mind that once we achieve the 10,000 megawatts by 2011, by 2015 we will have another generation of about the same amount. So they are working on another plan covering 2015 and 2020”.
Moreover, in consonance with the effort of government to make sure that power is put in place, community issues are also part of the challenges confronting the smooth sailing of the project. Still on the interview, the President said also that the declaration of the state of emergency in some of the communities will help in achieving this vision. He said: “And this emergency I said I want to declare, I want to look at everything. I think by the end of May, I will be ready by the grace of God to declare the emergency in the sector. Emergency is really to allow government to use any national resource and to set aside any agreement entered into to ensure that the target for the production, distribution and transmission of power targets are achieved. For instance, once the emergency is declared, it will allow government to take any gas from anywhere. For instance now also, some of the transmission lines for which contracts have been awarded by NIPP during the last administration have not begun, not because of lack of payment but because in most cases people in the areas are asking for compensation for the right of way to erect the towers for the high voltage transmission lines. The cost of compensation alone is sometimes more than the cost of erecting the transmission lines. But once the emergency is declared, it will involve government going ahead with construction of the transmission lines even if the issue of compensation has not been settled. Such issues can be settled at any other time. So, we don't have to waste time. For now, we can't do much by law until we pay the compensation. But once the emergency is declared, it can be done. We can go ahead and dismantle some structures. These are some of the problems militating against the progress and this power issue is so important to this nation that nothing should be allowed to stand in its way. This is what we have put in place in the power sector”.
The National Energy Policy provides for the production of adequate supply of a balanced energy mix in a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally friendly manner for the nation’s economic growth. The Ministry of Energy whose mandate is to translate into reality adequate and reliable power supply through the implementation of the generation, transmission and distribution in the sector is poised and working in consonance with the priority of Mr. President on the Seven Point Agenda of which power is first in line. the efforts of the ministry in ensuring this is show cased in its supervisory role on the line agencies under it saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that power is real. These departments and agencies are: department of Electrical Inspectorate Services, department of Power, Rural Electrification Agency, (REA), Energy Commission of Nigeria, (ECN), Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC/NIPP, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.
Nigeria currently has about 14 major generating plants which supply electric energy to the National Grid. 3 are hydro and 11 are Thermal (Gas/Steam).
It should be realised that as it is today, the Elumelu issue has taken a new dimension in that the EFCC has charged him and some other actors in that power fraud. It would be disappointing at this point to know that in spite of what the government is doing in order to make life a lot easier, those saddled with the responsibility of making sure that the dream is realised are not helping matters. Enough evidences are at the corridor of EFCC to have gone for these people. But as they say, there is smoke without fire. These people any how are found wanting in the power saga. As it was observed, the government is doing all it can to affect the life of the citizenry, other group due to their selfish interest are stalling all of this effort.
Looking at the steps taken so far by government without any tangible result in spite of the huge sum of money invested into the sector, the administration decided to inaugurate different committees that will look into the sector and see the reason why so much has gone into the sector and we still remain in darkness. Are we going to say the government is watching without lifting a hand in the matter when the efforts of government is been thwarted by a few who have not the interest of the common people.

Segun Imohiosen writes from Abuja.