Nigerian newly appointed Minister for Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has been urged to chart a new roadmap to address generation, distribution and transmission challenges in the West African nation’s power sector.
Engr. Moshood Kola Balogun, who is the Chairman of Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company (MEMMCOL), advised during an interactive session with the media as carried by The Guardian newspaper.
He said there was the need for a roadmap that would clearly define the goals of the power sector, after seven years of privatisation without achieving the desired results.
He advised the Minister to consult with the stakeholders and come up with a comprehensive roadmap that would transform the sector.
“We need to separate it in such a way that any state or local government can go into power generation and distribution to people within its area. If the power being generated is not enough, they can even buy from the national grid.
“So, power generation and distribution should be removed from the Exclusive List and moved to the Concurrent List. That is why we are advocating for franchising so that Nigerians will enjoy more supply.”
Mr Balogun identified the decentralisation of the national grid as one of the ways to reposition the power sector.
He posed: “Why do we continue to have a single grid that binds all of us together?
“The entire process should be done in a way that investors can get back their funds while their customers get fair bills in line with global best practices,” he explained.
Mr Balogun noted that more investments were needed in the sector to upgrade feeders, transformers and substations across the country.
He also called for effective regulation of the sector, stressing that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) needs to be strengthened to carry out its statutory responsibilities.