Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed that he will take away power generation and distribution from the exclusive list if elected the next number one citizen of the country.
Atiku said that States should have the authority to generate and distribute electricity explaining that he will embark on the decentralization of electricity value chain.
Atiku who disclosing that he has no interest in any generating company said that energy problem or industrial dispute in one part of the country should not cripple economic activities in the entire nation.
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in a statement on Thursday said that having keenly observed developments in the power sector within the last 24 hours, he is convinced that the solution to the electricity crisis, as encapsulated in his Policy Document, ‘My Covenant with Nigerians’, remains the most proactive plan to lead Nigeria out of darkness.
He said, “my approach is to first remove the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list and give states the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity for themselves.
“An industrial dispute with the Federal Government in Abuja should not affect an industry in Lagos or a factory in Aba or in Kano or even an average Nigerian who just wants to get home, watch the news and sleep under a ceiling fan”.
The Waziri Adamawa said that he will ensure that his administration will coordinate the entire electricity value chain including renewal energy, solar, hydro and coal adding that generation without effective distribution channel amounts to efforts in futility.
“My policy shall aim at achieving greater coordination of investments in the entire electricity value chain.
“Investments in additional generation capacity are futile without consideration for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to wheel the additional energy.
“Any investment in additional generation capacity would be competitively procured considering a viable mix of renewable (hydro, solar, wind and biofuels) and non-renewable (coal, gas) options for energy security”.
On how he will increase generation and into the national grid, Atiku continued,
“Ahead of procuring additional generation, both transmission and distribution capacities would be enhanced with government and private sector support for investments.
“In this regard, we shall incentivize private investors to invest in the development of multiple green-field mini-grid transmission systems to be looped into the super-grip in the medium to long term while allowing the Federal Government focus on policy, regulation, and standardization”.
He said that his aspiration to be President is to protect the interest of the average Nigerian in all circumstances, and on this, “I stand to say that I have no interest either directly or indirectly in any generator company, as has been publicly revealed”.
The electricity workers in Nigeria on Wednesday embarked on an industrial strike throwing the entire nation into darkness as they switched off the national grid.
