Fashola unveils FG’s road map for solving Nigeria’s power crises

Babatunde Fashola, Minster for Power, Works and Housing, says the Federal Government’s road map for solving the country’s power crises is to attain incremental power wherever it can be found, thus achieving steady power and ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

Fashola stated this while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Nigeria’s electricity challenges, a road map for change’,  at the public presentation of the book: The BRF Era: Policy and Governance in Lagos State, written by renown public policy analyst, Opeyemi Agbaje at the Oriental Hotels, Lekki, Lagos.

“We must first agree the power we have is not enough. So we need to get more. That is where we have decided to start. The people who took over the concession are maintaining and repairing the broken gas turbines and fixing aging power assets. This is first route to incremental power, overhauling the assets.”

He stated that government’s strategy is untangling all contractual and maintenance issues with power plants, so they add to power supply available. The next action is to ensure that power plants are located close to power sources, to achieve steady power, and paying a competitive tariff required to build pipelines that will take gas to those sited far away.

It will be followed  by diversifying Nigeria’s energy mix to achieve uninterrupted power supply.

Fashola however condemned the actions of those who are sabotaging  government’s efforts by erecting distribution poles characterised by poor quality workmanship, cable theft, people getting injunctions to stop development work and those who express anger at government’s policies by destroying power infrastructure.

“Those who have vandalised transformers looking for chemicals to print money, the only place money is made is in the mint, so stop vandalising transformers. And those consumers who also pay people to help them divert their meters so that it does not read accurately, those are some of the things that must stop.“

Fashola also stated that the surest path to incremental power is solving the problems of yesterday. He highlighted the success of the current government in  resolving problems with Aba, Azura, Zungeru, and Geregu power plants.

“The Zungeru Power Plant, meant to deliver 700 MW in Niger state, but which was held up in court for several years. Although the project is now three years behind, the dispute has been resolved, parties are out of court, over 800 workers are back on site and this should deliver incremental power.”

Opeyemi Agbaje said the writing of this three part book started by accident. After listening to Babatunde Fashola’s erudite delivery at a Lagos Business School event when he was preparing to run for governor, he became convinced and staked his credibility on Fashola’s performance in office.

“Happily Fashola probably surpassed our expectations,” said Agbaje.

Frank Aigbogun, BusinessDay publisher, who reviewed Opeyemi Agbaje’s, book said of the work, “This is an excellent book, both in terms of structure and content, as well as quality of editing and production. Opeyemi has made a substantial contribution to public policy and governance in Nigeria  by putting together this documentation of “The BRF Era: Policy and Governance in Lagos State 2007 – 2015.

“Opeyemi Agbaje’s book is divided into three parts of 56 chapters. Part 1 comprises of activities of Babatunde Fashola’s administration as governor of Lagos State, published under his BusinessDay column: “Economy, Polity, Society” between February 14, 2007 and October 22, 2014.

“The second part contains transcripts of television interviews conducted by the author, on his television show, ‘The Policy Council’, and dwells on  ten sections: leadership and development, social sector investments, infrastructure and development, physical planning, security, finance and economic planning, agriculture, law and legislation, information management and public enlightenment and eradicating Ebola.

“The concluding part is a single chapter, where a policy appraisal and analysis of the BRF era was carried out. Opeyemi identified a policy tripod around security, human development and infrastructure at the core of programme design in Fashola’s government.”

The book launch event featured book readings from commissioners and officials of the Lagos state government, including Obafemi Hamzat, former commissioner of works and infrastructure, Tokunbo Abiru, former commissioner for finance and Fola Arthur-Worrey, former commissioner for lands and Yewande Adesina, former Special Adviser to the governor of Lagos State on public health.

ISAAC ANYAOGU