By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has charged local engineers to up their game in the task of ensuring power sufficiency and efficiency to boost economic and industrial growth in the country in line with the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda by harnessing the rich human and material resources.
The Minister stated this at the weekend while addressing a visiting delegation of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), led by the President, Engr Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil, to the ministry, a statement made available to SUMMIT POST courtesy of the Minister’s aide said.
The Minister who stressed the need to give the power sector adequate attention, said there is no transformed economy throughout the world that did not put power as priority.
He stated that one of the major crises Nigeria experiences is not being able to produce what is consumed thereby being dependent on other parts of the world as a consuming economy.
“A large percentage of what we consume as a nation is imported and any country desirous of transformation should eschew such scenario,” he said.
While charging the NSE to throw its weight in the power sector in order to achieve its much desired goal of adequate and stable quality power supply, the Minister said one of the major challenges the country has in moving forward stems from the inability to synergise.
“Nigeria needs abundance of power supply and the challenge doesn’t lie on any other institution than the Nigerian Society of Engineers,”Adelabu said.
He explàined that even though factors like leadership, commitment, focus, passion are instrumental to achieving the desired success in the sector, gaps in mobility, infrastructure, road and railways networks among others remain challenging despite funding from development partners.
Speaking further, the Minister said as part of Mr. President’s commitment to ensure a turn around in the lives of Nigerians, implementation of the local content in government contracts has become imperative.
“As a protagonist of local content, there must be recognition of the local meter manufacturers in Nigeria to encourage development and sustainability,” he noted.
He advocated that since consumers are the revenue determinants, transmission and distribution capacity should be in excess as generating power that does not get to the consumers is a fruitless effort.
“Nigeria is a nation with population of over 220 million, generating only 4000 megawatt, this calls for adequate collaboration as new confidence is being reposed on this new administration for sustainable and adequate power supply.
“There have been series of bilateral stakeholders consultations prior to a planned town hall meeting of all stakeholders which the NSE will be majorly involved”, Adelabu said.
Earlier, the President of the NSE, Engr Gidari-Wudil, said the society will put all expertise and operational arsenal at its disposal to help the ministry achieve its mandate.
Acquainting the Minister with recent developments within the society, Gidari-Wudil explained that the core mandate of NSE is to make meaningful contributions to the development and advancement of technology through collaboration and linkages.
He said in the quest to expand the scope of NSE’s views and vision across international boundaries, with a view to harnessing vital international resources, while facilitating knowledge sharing and transfer, led to the council of NSE’s approval of five international diaspora branches of the Society in Houston, London, Manchester, Glasgow and the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, adding that the incoming President of the World Society of Engineers is a top member of the NSE.
Outlining some critical expectations of the organisation, he said power is the bedrock of manufacturing and for Nigeria to survive as a country, there is need to support local manufacturers otherwise Nigeria will continue to be a consumer nation.
