By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Nigeria’s Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu has urged electricity generating companies, (GenCos) and distribution companies (DisCos) in the country to step up their performance towards delivering improved electricity for economic and industrial growth.
The Minister gave the charge while meeting with the management teams of the GenCos and the DisCos in his office in Abuja, a statement signed by the Minister’s aide on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, said.
According to the Minister, it was a fact finding meeting aimed at finding lasting solutions to the challenges confronting the power sector which had stunted growth and development of the country’s economy.
He said meeting with all the stakeholders along the generation, transmission, and distribution value chain would be adopted as a regular meeting in order to constantly evaluate developments in the sector.
He described the gathering as the most authentic way of getting valuable information on the challenges faced by the operators as opposed to speculations.
“We called this meeting to learn from you and the only way to salvage a bad situation is to understand the real issues on ground.
“You will agree with me that power is the most important thing you need to achieve the desired economic growth and industrial development as contained in the President’s inaugural speech where he picked power as a major driver of economic growth and industrial development. Therefore no excuse will be entertained for non performance,” the Minister said.
While soliciting for support in order to forge a practical solution beyond theory,
Adelabu challenged the operators to synergise for the success of the power industry, noting that the work cannot be done by one person.
During the meeting which lasted for several hours with MDs/CEOs of both the GenCos and DisCos in attendance, Adelabu stressed that the cooperation of the operators in the sector was needed for him to make the desired impact.
“There won’t be anything as fulfilling as making impact in the power sector within two to three years by delivering and sustaining electricity supply to the end users; schools, households, small businesses and the industries,” he said.