Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power, has called for collaboration between stakeholders in the power sector, especially in deploying meters, citing that the federal government is ready to patronise local content.
Adelabu reaffirmed his support for domestic manufacturers during his recent visit to Mojec International, Lagos State, highlighting the government’s steadfast dedication to promoting local production.
He emphasised the imperative of providing robust support to local producers, including facilitating their access to affordable financing and securing long-term capital investments.
“We will prioritise patronage, ensuring sustainability in their operations, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed agenda.
“It is a must to have significant local content in the power sector’s projects and contracts,” Adelabu said.
In addition, he unveiled initiatives aimed at enacting legislation to mandate local content in the power sector, drawing parallels with practices in the oil and gas industry. He said the government is targeting 100 percent local content in the sector in the next decade.
“We need to start developing capacity in terms of investment infrastructure and also ensure mass production. Need to develop local capacity to avoid importation.
“We must have a comprehensive plan for full backward integration so that the locally manufactured products will be achieved. We need to start training our people in technical training,” Adelabu added.
The minister added that the Presidential Metering Initiatives plan to install 2 to 2.5 million meters yearly for five years. He stated that the Initial focus is to close significant metering gaps, emphasizing the necessity for collaboration among all stakeholders.
Commending Mojec International for its contributions to bridging the metering gap, Adelabu stated, “I visited Mojec to see how they can be supported. it’s part of my visit to see how they can be supported through the meter expansion programme of the Ministry of Power.
“We know that Nigeria is a highly import-dependent country, this is one of the reasons our currency has lost value. one of the intentions of the government is to ensure we are back on the import substitution journey.
“The only way we can do this is to support local manufacturers, apart from support. We must also incentivise them by providing a conducive atmosphere that we make their production activities in terms of cost to be competitive,” Adelabu said.
In the latest report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigeria’s meter deficit is estimated to be more than seven million, as most customers continue to be billed on estimates.
In her remarks, Chantelle Abdul, group managing director of Mojec, called for more funding to roll out more meters and bridge the deficit gap, citing that Mojec is involved in more than 50 percent of metering across the country.
According to her, improving local content is the way forward as it creates employment and builds technical competence, citing that the company has over 500 workforce across the country.
