- During his tour, he inspected projects being undertaken by Ikeja Electric and other entities in Lagos metropolis
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has reassured Nigerians that the ongoing upgrades and investments in the power sector will lead to improved electricity supply within the next three to six months.
Adelabu conveyed this assurance during a working visit to ongoing projects at Maryland and Alausa substations in Lagos. During his tour, he inspected projects being undertaken by Ikeja Electric and other entities in Lagos metropolis.
Adelabu highlighted that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had initiated the upgrading of substations in Lagos, increasing capacity from 30 MVA transformers to 100 MVA and 205 MVA in Maryland and Alausa, respectively.
Emphasizing the federal government’s stance on implementing a cost-reflective tariff for the power sector, the minister underscored the necessity of this approach.
He noted that low investment across Distribution Companies (DisCos) stemmed from inadequate funds for infrastructure upgrades, urging the companies to prioritize service delivery to justify potential tariff adjustments.
He said the ministry would do all it could to ensure that DisCos up their games through massive investment, noting, “if that fails, it will resort to legal backing.”
Mr Adelabu bemoaned the rising cases of vandalism of power assets across the country, recommending capital punishment for vandals.
He labelled vandals of power assets as “killers of people and saboteurs of business growth”.
“We need scapegoats. We are ready to give them the right punishment in terms of prosecution.
“Punishment for vandals should go beyond a six-month jail term. Capital punishment should be meted out for power vandals. They kill people, and they kill businesses,” he said.
Mr Adelabu added that all hands must be on deck among operators within the power sector value chain.
He said it remained worrisome that the country with an installed capacity of 13,000MW was generating a paltry 5,000MW.
The minister said the government to further advance his strategy of overcoming the present impasse, Mr Adelabu pledged to change his master plan from top-to-bottom approach to bottom-to-top.