The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has promised to raise Nigeria’s electricity distribution to 20,000 megawatts within the first four years of his administration, if elected President on February 25th.
Obi disclosed this while speaking at the People’s Town Hall meeting hosted by Channels Television on Sunday.
The current administration’s poor showing in the power sector has seen the country’s power generating capacity hovering at about 12,000 megawatts of electricity, while distribution capacity remains abysmally low at less than 6,000 megawatts.
For an effective power supply, energy experts have put the country’s energy need at 40,000 megawatts for a population of over 200 million people.
In sharp contrast to Nigeria’s epileptic power supply, Nigeria’s rivals, Egypt and South Africa generate 59,530MW and 58,095MW, to serve a population of 102,334m and 59, 309m, respectively.
But the Labour Party flag bearer, while x- raying the country’s energy challenge, assured that “Within four years in office, we will be able to distribute 20,000 megawatts of electricity to Nigerians, or even more.”
He also promised that his administration would explore several opportunities/sources to generate adequate power, including, but not limited to gas, diesel, coal, biomass, solar and hydropower sources.
Obi, while also speaking on the current insecurity ravaging Nigeria, promised to tackle insecurity head-on through a broad-based framework, by motivating security agencies for optimal performance
“I will use my powers as the President and Commander-in-Chief to secure Nigeria as quickly as possible,” he said.
He promised to ensure that all procurement in the Military and other sectors are “not only transparent, measurable but also visible,” adding that “The days of doing things hidden are gone.”
According to him, “for our men and women in the security, we will ensure they are motivated and supported and properly insured and make sure they are confident their families are protected in case something happens to them.
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“We need to involve every community in Nigeria in security where each community secures their community and shares information with other communities.”
He also assured Nigerians that his administration would “exhaust all carrots before bringing the sticks”, as a strategy in tackling insecurity.
“I visited an IDPs’ camp in Benue State. I listened to their issues and told them that if I’m the president of Nigeria, I will take your issues personally because as long as you are in IDP camp, Nigeria is in IDP camp,” he said.
Speaking on corruption, the LP flag bearer described corruption in Nigeria as “unprecedented.”
He said: “We will address unprecedented, aggravated corruption. We deserve the votes of Nigerians because this is turning out to be an election based on character backed by records, competence, and capacity. Northern Nigeria is paying a massive price today because they have been voting based on ethnic and religious lines for a long time. We are going to stop the killings and start the healing; stop the stealing and start the keeping.”
The Town Hall meeting also witnessed a mild drama as Obi’s running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed, shed tears while recalling how some opponents subjected his family to ridicule.
He lamented that his family has been subjected to attacks, soon after joining Peter Obi in the Presidential race.
According to him, “I and my family have been paying a huge price for my attempts to rescue Nigeria. They sent all sorts of people after me.
“When I joined the ticket, I impeached certain lies against him (Peter Obi) and particularly my good friend on the APC side on the same level. You know when people think they have money, they have power, and the sitting authority is theirs.”
He assured Nigerians that Obi has credible plans to tackle critical areas to unlock the nation’s potential in all sectors.
