Leading Nigeria, a country with over 200 million people, is a demanding job. Much more than the population size, Nigerians are experiencing a drastically weakened economy, a heightened level of insecurity, continued power failure, lingering strikes by educational institutions, etc.
With a laser focus on the power situation of the country, Brief outlines the plans of the most popular presidential candidate in the 2023 race.
Nigeria’s power grid last month collapsed for the seventh time in 2022, causing blackouts in many parts of the country. Nigeria’s power grid failure has become a worrisome concern for citizens at a time when the price of fuel recently increased from N145 per litre at the start of the year to N179 per litre. The reoccurring collapse has hit Nigerian businesses the hardest, with the cost of running a business increasing with the rising economic challenges.
Presidential candidates view on power failure
Peter Obi – Labour Party
The former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has spoken a lot about the ability of Nigeria to generate over 20,000 megawatts of electricity daily.
As Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, averagely produces not more than 4000 megawatts (July, 2022), Peter Obi journeyed to Egypt, one of Africa’s top electricity producers, to understudy the country’s power system to implement in Nigeria. Mr. Peter Obi further explained that the knowledge he gathered from his trip to the North African country has convinced him that Nigeria can improve the country’s power generation.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu – All Progressive Congress (APC)
The two-term governor of Lagos State and presidential candidate of the All-Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has also spoken of power generation in the country.
In a public document, Bola Tinubu wrote, “I will embark on a renewed action-oriented focus and take immediate and urgent action on resolving existing challenges of power generation plants, gas purchasing, pricing, transmission, and distribution. My administration’s critical goal is to have 15,000 megawatts distributable to all categories of consumers nationwide to ensure 24/7 sustainable supply within the next four years.”
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the presidential candidate of the PDP has also commented on the issue. According to him, “he hopes to achieve 25,000MW through a mix of non-renewable energy (hydro, solar, nuclear) and other thermal fuels (coal, biofuel) in addition to natural gas. Atiku Abubakar hopes to achieve 10,000-15,000MW in the short run, before hitting the target of 25,000MW.