Mr Osita Okechukwu, foundation member of All Progressives Congress, APC, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, to as a matter of urgent national importance, recapitalise and nationalize the electricity sector, for the economic growth and industrial development of our dear country.
He declared that with “the privatisation disaster”, which had led to increased energy prices, job losses, factories closures, “the only valid option is to recapitalise and restructure the energy sector around public ownership, that’s why we are progressives and the APC promised CHANGE.”
He said this in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday.
Okechukwu urged the President to borrow a leaf from Albert Einstein’s maxim “which states that it will amount to insanity to continue expending public funds along profiteering oligopolies and hope to get commensurate electricity output.”
“Mr President, we are in an economic crisis like the UK after the 2nd World War.
“Labour, a progressive party like APC, to strengthen their economy, nationalised fundamental industries like electricity and their electricity sector generated 30,000 megawatts in less than 20 years.
“Why can’t we recapitalise with $30 billion to generate 30,000 megawatts in less than 10 years under public ownership?
“Margaret Thatcher came in the 1980s and privatised and the cry for public ownership is back in the UK as neoliberal policies most times fuel poverty and throw thousands out of jobs,” Okechukwu re-echoed.
He noted that “when we warned then that the Peoples Democratic Party- led federal government was less than transparent in the privatization process, where neither Foreign Direct Investment flowed in nor did foreign investors really participate in the exercise, nobody listened and local economic bandits had a field day.”
He opined that the chickens had come home to roost, “as the available financial records gazetted that the billions government poured in to bail out the stagnated less than 4,000 megawatts after the privatization scheme is far more than the monies paid by the oligopolistic firms and regrettably the megawatts remained stagnate.”
When reminded that there was improvement in the electricity supply contrary to his postulation, he disagreed vehemently saying that “what happened was akin to April Fool – the floated high tariff Band-Class-Bogey – which daily will push many out of national grid and left few to enjoy the remnant megawatts.
“Are we not ashamed that after expending $16 billion on NIPP, and uncountable billions of dollars afterwards, that 200 million people ration less than 4,000 megawatts of electricity?”
“Mr President, please let’s muster the socioeconomic will and borrow $30 billion to generate 30,000 megawatts under public ownership in less than ten years.
“It is my considered view that the loan will pay itself if Mr President nominates credible professionals with proven capacity in delivery and transparency to not only implement this grand national project, but to carry out thorough studies to establish the investment requirements which holistically will fix the electricity chain.
“This is the solution provider that will expand the frontiers of the production spirit of Nigerians, hence economic risorgimento,” Okechukwu submitted.