The presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has assured Nigerians of development in the power sector if she wins the 2019 election.
She added that uninterrupted power supply would be witnessed in the country.
In a press statement on Sunday, Ezekwesili said that the electricity industry would be developed to employ more youths.
She said, “From 1999 till date, all the projections made by successive governments to grow the supply of electricity to Nigerians, to either 6,000MW, 10,000MW or 20,000MW, have not been met. The Nigerian citizensโ desire and willingness to pay an appropriate price of electricity consumed is seen in the great demand for generators of all shapes and sizes, and how much they pay to operate and service these machines.
“The low power availability from the National Grid has meant that corporate entities have to divert large amount of funds from their core productive areas of focus to this critical area of reliable power supply. The price of this is paid in not being competitive and great loss of production capacities, which further impoverishes the populace.
“Our vision is to provide sustainable, affordable and uninterrupted electricity supply to all Nigerian towns and villages, starting with Nigerian cities. Our vision is to ensure that the Nigerian electricity supply industry becomes fully functional, vibrant and employs hundreds of thousands of young Nigerians, in both the on-grid and off-grid segments.โ
The ACPN presidential candidate also said, “Our immediate goal is to provide the following Nigerian towns, cutting across the following six geo-political zones of Nigeria: Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Birnin Kebbi, Aba, Minna, Gombe, Lokoja, Gusau, Jos, Yola, Abuja, Ilorin, Benin, Owerri and Ijebu-Odeย with 24-hours, 365 days-a-year electricity within the first four years of our administration.
โThe other cities to benefit from this are Calabar, Katsina, Benin, Warri, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Maiduguri, Yenegoa, Damaturu, Osogbo, Bauchi, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Sokoto, Akure, Makurdi, Dutse, Abakaliki, Uyo, Jalingo and Onitsha. The rural areas proximate to the towns will also enjoy the services.โ
The presidential candidate explained that stable electricity would aid business growth in Nigeria.
She noted that challenges causing under-performance would be addressed when she emerged.