Kaduna The Minister of Power, Work and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday in Kaduna urged states and local governments to invest in power to provide electricity to Nigerians living in the rural areas.
Fashola,made the call at the opening of the Executive Session of the Second edition of National Council on Power (NCP) in Kaduna.
The theme of the session is: “ Achieving incremental, then stable, then uninterupted power.“
Fashola, said that the power sector had been in the control of federal government without structures and support from the states that would enhance power development.
“We cannot achieve the objective of power generation without the states and local governments participating.“
He said that without the participation of the Niger State Government and some local government areas in the state, the crises of Zungeru power plant would not have been resolved.
He said work at the Zungeru power plant had stopped for three years due to court cases but with the involvement of the state and local governments, all the issues had been resolved and work had resumed at the site.
“We are now working with Niger State and some local governments to complete the major transmitting sites.“
The minister said that he was also encouraged by the Zamfara experience, where the government had connected many communities who had not had power for decades with electricity.
Fashola, said the states must go into the sector, which if properly harnessed would increase their internally generated revenues and improve the lives and source of income of many Nigerians.
“ Power Roadmap cannot be achieved without the participation of the states,“ he said.
The minister also appealed to the National Population Commission (NPC) to ensure appropriate conduct of the national census to capture the accurate population of Nigerians for better national planning.
Fashola, noted that the data of the nation’s population was important for the development of the power sector.
“ The Roadmap to steady power begins with population and adequate data base. We cannot provide power without knowing our power needs.“
He said that with the enormous use of internet services among individuals and organisations, policies must be evolved to guide users on energy conservation.
He said the Federal Government was working on various power projects including the Kaduna 215mw Dual Fired power project, and the biggest 3000 mw Hydro power project on the Mambilla Plateau to address the power challenges to boost economic growth.
The Nigerian Observer reports that Stakeholders including power regulatory and generating agencies, state Commissioners for power and related ministry officials and members of the National Assembly attended the session.
The Council is evolving new power roadmap that would enhance adequate power generation and distribution in the country, with recommendations from different stakeholders in the sector.
