That is the reason we are adding coal and hydros, large, medium and small. Zugeru power project in Niger State was flagged off by Mr. President on May 28, 2013, and will generate 700 mega watts of power when completed. Mambila will generate 3,050 mega watts in Taraba State in a few months time. Kashimbila will be commissioned very soon. When you look at all these, you will realise that the president has performed marvellously in four years than many presidents added together. How many thousands of mega watts is GEJ administration targeting because the main opposition party has vowed to generate 40,000 mega watts if it eventually emerges? Well, it is difficult to say how many this administration is targeting, but for the opposition, I have looked at their manifesto, it is a laughing stock, a target of 40,000 megawatts is not possible. There is nothing much in their manifesto with regards to power and infrastructure. What they said they will do if they eventually come on board, we have not only done it but we have exceeded it. If they want to prove to Nigerians that they will do more, let them tell us how they intend to do it! They are talking of energy mix, we not only talking energy mix, we are already doing energy mix. Its like a mother that goes to the market to buy foodstuff, comes home and prepares a very delicious meal for you, few minutes for her to serve you, somebody out there is now promising to go to the market to prepare what is not even up to what your mother has dished on the table for you. We have not only done what they promise the people, we have far exceeded it, and are on the path way of realising far beyond what they say they will do. Is this administration aware that previous administration promised steady power but failed. How soon will Nigerians start benefiting from regular power supply? We are already doing much more than Nigeria had ever done. We have generated much more than Nigeria had ever generated. Even the opposition acknowledged that there is severe vandalism which has made it impossible to generate enough power. You can think of a situation where vandalism cost you 1,200 mega-watt, when its happens like that, how do you improve electricity? You cannot! Now think of the alternatives we are now developing; coal, more hydros, renewable energies. You don’t go to shops to pick these up. They have to be designed, constructed, procured, brought into the country, installed and commissioned. We are already there! One of the coal-fired EPP contract has been awarded. Look at Azura, never have we had such before at that level! 450 mega-watts coming from an IPP. But these things do not happen over night. For instance, look at transmission, the infrastructure was dilapidated, and we never had a national grid. We had radial grid all over. It is under President Jonathan’s administration, we are now transforming radial grid into national grid. It is under this administration that we are getting alternatives to power generation and less collapse of the entire power system in Nigeria is being done. Eventually Nigerians will heave a sigh of relief. But it takes time. Somebody who is making a promise and the other who has put in mechanism in place to realise it, who is better off to deliver to Nigerians? I keep telling people, just to deliver what South is delivering presently per capital, we need 160,000 mega-watts. If you ask top turbine manufacturers in the world, they can not deliver it in five years, it is not possible! Nobody can do it! But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step and we have actually taken so many steps. We will do what we have promised Nigerians but Nigerians have to cooporate. Not when we do it, you go and vandalize our facilities. You see people cutting down transmission masts, some melt transformers and sell them as scraps. Vandalism of the power sector and the oil and gas pipe lines, no country can be pleased with such challenges. Mr. President is just being attacked from every corner. It is like telling somebody to do something, and you lock him up in room. You cannot destroy everything he is doing and keep complaining that he is not doing more. Vandalism does not do the country any good. I have been to conferences in most parts of the world but yet to see a country where vandal operates to the detriment of the masses. We have enough to generate 5,500 mega watts but where is the gas? Any time we want to shoot over 4500 mega-watt they burst the gas pipe lines. Mr. President realises this and we have decided to put a device in place to track every metre of the pipe line so that when these vandals go near it will stimulate impulses that will scare them away. But it has not happened yet. Currently, we are at the mercy of vandals. We are fighting Boko Haram, vandals and miscreants and sometimes we are fighting importers of generators. What do you make of the dust raised on the 2015 budget in which your ministry and the NNPC are to spend N213 million on fuel and maintenance of plants and generators? We are seriously cutting down on that. As a minister of power I have no generator in my house. I cannot be running on generator and be promising Nigerians regular power supply, it is not possible. But there are times we need to prop up when there is a collapsed system or when there is a significant down turn due to unfavourable weather condition that locks down the system but you can’t just fold your arms and watch. Even in countries like America, France and Germany, they have generators. It is just that they are used for emergency situations. So there is nothing wrong preparing ahead of emergency situations. But me as an individual, I don’t have generator. Do you think the N213 million is justified for maintenance and fuelling for just one year? It is very justified. That is the reason we want to knock people out of generators, and if vandals will allow us, we will definitely do. When I was a Vice Chancellor, I was spending about N10,000 a day on my generator, which amounted to N300,000 in a month, which is N3.6m in a year. This was on diesel alone not on maintenance. But this budget is both for mentainance and fuelling for two ministries. People sometimes are just in the habit of running down this administration for unknown reasons. And if you are not calculating enough you will tag it as corruption. But the opposition has always tagged such as an act of corruption. The opposition is giving a dog a bad name to destroy it. It was in the previous government that a special assistant to an official actually made trillions of naira. Think of an issue such as corruption; recently the presidential candidate of APC, facts are coming out. N25billion was corruptly siphoned out of the country’s treasury when he was heading the PTF; at that time, naira was superior to the dollar. N25billion will approximately be equivalent to about $32billion. Convert $32billion of that time to the value now, you will be amazed. Then tell me who is corrupt? The problem is that Nigerians are not ready to intellectually analyse issues. Is certificate racket not corruption? The President Jonathan that I know will never endorse corruption. He has been tested and proven as outstanding compared to others. The person that wants to take over, during his military reign, he did not rule the country, the late Gen. Idiagbon was the one making the marks and everybody knows that. What capacity did he have 30years ago that he still possesses now, because he has not improved himself. So what is he going to deliver to the country. Even at PTF, he also allowed his subordinate to run things. My fear is the West sees Nigeria on a trajectory, and the West knows that if Nigeria’s economy continues to move at that trajectory, if we deliver power to Nigeria and our industries grow parallel to the trajectory, they will see our country moving and we will eventually become a world power and they do not want to see a super power in Africa. Unfortunately most Nigerians do not realise this. If not, why are they opposing us? The World Economic Forum was held in Nigeria, which has the next highest attendance and it was not even mentioned on cable network like CNN. BBC just brushed it briefly and their focus was more on Boko Haram. What are they trying to portray about us as a nation? Our people are yet to realise it? And it does not matter whom they want to use in achieving that. The opposition elements are only being used to pull Nigeria backward. What do you think is the way forward for Nigeria? President Jonathan has performed creditably well in various sectors like power, railway, air and sea ports, agriculture. It is time to allow him to complete what he started because he knows the way through this puddle and wilderness of confusion. He has been able to put this country together, let not play with fire, let massively support the president. - See more at: vanguardngr/2015/01/saying-electricity-supply-not-improved-lying-nebo/#sthash.sPPMHPmH.dpuf
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 22:26:50 +0000
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