The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, on Wednesday, disclosed that the country recorded a 25 per cent power generation increase within one year.
Adelabu, who spoke in Abuja at the inaugural meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Power Sector Working Group, said on July 27, the country generated and transmitted 5105 megawatts of power.
This, he noted, was the highest ever witnessed in the last three years, adding that the capacity before now had always hovered around 4000 megawatts or below.
Adelabu also said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had given his ministry a marching order to generate and transmit 6000MW of electricity in December.
The minister also emphasized the importance of the power sector as a major driver of economic growth, adding that this was in tandem with the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the power sector.
He said, ” The President meant his words that he would give us all the support, all the backing and the inspiration we require to turn around this sector. He has kept his word since he assumed office.
“The improvement we have witnessed in the power sector is not unconnected to the backing and support of the president to all the policies and all the activities of the ministry. And we are grateful for all the support.
“Just a few days ago, July 27 specifically, we successfully generated and transmitted 5105 megawatts of Power, the highest ever witnessed in the last three years. The capacity before now had always hovered around 4000 megawatts or below.
” But within a year of taking over, we have had about a 25 per cent increase. We are actually on the track towards achieving the president’s instruction to us that by the end of December, we must achieve a landmark generation and transmission of 6000 megawatts”.
The ministers also highlighted the need for collaboration in tackling the challenges that could hinder the power sector from achieving its full potential.
According to Adelabu who spoke on the reason for setting up the ministerial working group, the power ministry is on the right track towards achieving the presidential mandate.
“We will not only focus on generation and transmission but also distribute it to the doorsteps of households, businesses, institutions and industries in Nigeria. So that they can feel the reforms and transformation in the power sector.
“Having realized this, we believe that power is not something that should be left alone to the Ministry of Power and its agencies because there are lots of supportive ministries without which we cannot achieve our mandate”, the minister said.
He noted that there had been a lot of informal meetings, gatherings and conversations regarding activities in the power sector and how to inter-relate and interdepend on each other.
“We now felt we needed to bring ourselves together in a formal, official setting where all these issues would be discussed and everybody would be on the same page,” Adelabu said.
Adelabu said presently, 75 per cent of Nigeria’s power generation comes from power gas plants while about 25 per cent comes from hydroelectric power plants.
“We have our large and small dams everywhere and we are still counting. At the same, we are focusing on generating power in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.
“This is why we talk about renewables, through solar, wind and small dams; from this, you will know that the Ministry of Water Resources is key to the success of the power sector, and they have been doing wonderfully well. That is why they had to be part of the Inter-ministerial power sector team”, he noted.
He noted the importance of finance in achieving the power sector objectives, saying that it was based on the fact that the ministries of Budget and National Planning and Finance were also incorporated into the Inter-ministerial working committee.
On the terms of reference of the group, the minister said it is to activate seamless power sector liquidity and financing.