By Tony Adibe
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, as a matter of urgent national importance to relcapitalise and nationalise Nigeria’s electricity sector, for the economic growth and industrial development of “our dear country.”
He said that privatisation disaster was over decade in the making with increasing energy prices, job losses, factories closures, adding that the “only valid option is to recapitalise and restructure the energy sector around public ownership, that’s why we are progressives and the APC promised change.”
Okechukwu further urged Mr President to borrow a leaf from Albert Einstein’s maxim which states that it will amount to insanity to continue expending public funds along profiteering oligopolies and hope to get commensurate electricity output.
“Mr President, we are in economic crisis like UK after the 2nd World War, Labour a progressive party like APC to strengthen their economy nationalised fundamental industries like electricity and their electricity sector generated 30,000 megawatts in less than 20 years. Why can’t we recapitalise with $30 billion to generate 30,000 megawatts in less than 10 years under public ownership?
Margaret Thatcher came in the 1980s and privatised and the cry for public ownership is back in UK as neoliberal policies most times fuel poverty and throw thousands out of jobs.” Okechukwu stated.
Okechukwu, who was former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), explained that “when we warned then that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government was less than transparent in the privatization process, where neither Foreign Direct Investment flowed in nor did foreign investors really participated in the exercise, nobody listened and local economic bandits had a field day.”
He said that the chickens had come home to roost, as the available financial records gazetted that the billions government poured in to bail out the stagnated less than 4,000 megawatts after the privatization scheme is far more than the monies paid by the oligopolistic firms and regrettably the megawatts remained stagnate.
Reminded that there is improvement in the electricity supply contrary to his postulation, he disagreed vehemently, saying that what happened was akin to April Fool – the floated high tariff Band-Class-Bogey – which daily will push many out of national grid and leave few to enjoy the remnant megawatts.
Okechukwu stated: “Are we not ashamed that after expending $16 billion on NIPP, and uncountable billions of dollars afterwards that 200 million people ration less than 4,000 megawatts of electricity?
“Mr President, please let’s muster the socioeconomic will and borrow $30 billion to generate 30,000 megawatts under public ownership in less ten years.
“It is my considered view that the loan will pay itself, if Mr President nominates credible professionals with proven capacity in delivery and transparency to not only implement this grand national project, but to carry out thorough studies to establish the investment requirements which holistically will fix the electricity chain. This is the solution provider that will expand the frontiers of the production spirit of Nigerians, hence economic resorgimento.”
