By Funso Alarape
Monday April 29, 2024
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Contrary to speculations that the Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, has been penciled down for a sack by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu due to nonperformance, a civil society organization calling itself, the Peoples Right Agenda (PRA) has alleged that certain cabals in the power industry who doesn’t want Adelabu to bring a total change to the sector were behind the incessant attacks on the minister.
“We know there are cabals in the industry who want it to be business as usual, they
didn’t allow previous power ministers to perform because they want the status quo to continue but they will not succeed, Nigeria will thrive under this administration.”
In a statement by its National Coordinator Tunde Olaoshebikan and Secretary Isaac Olatona, PRA said: “Since the day of ECN (Electricity Company of Nigeria), NEPA (National Electricity Power of Nigeria), PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria), Nigeria has had over 40 Ministers of Power but the total megawatts (MW) to the national grid has not significantly improved.
“The highest the country had ever pushed out was around 4,000 MW except about two years ago when 5,800 MW was wheeled to the grid, and this was a one-off situation.
“We cannot continue to do things the same way and expect a different result. Adelabu has come in as a Minister of Power who desires to do things differently and this is what those who do not want the country to enjoy stable electricity are not happy about.
“We know the attacks are sponsored because these people want the status quo to continue. Among all the ministers in the Cabinet, he (Adelabu) is the only one that those behind these campaigns have singled out…
“We know there are cabals in the industry who want it to be business as usual, but they will not succeed, Nigeria will thrive under this administration.”
“Apart from those who are unhappy with the reforms going on in the sector, a lot of political undertones have also been observed that clearly show the campaign of calumny is sponsored even from within the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some opposition elements in the Minister’s home State of Oyo.
“Some of the reports refer to Adelabu’s governorship ambition which has no relevance in today’s situation. The Minister has barely a year in office while President Tinubu’s administration of four years is yet to spend a year of its four-year tenure, so referring to a governorship ambition at this period is being cheeky and deliberate to portray the Minister in a bad light and possibly de -market him before 2027. This should stop to enable him to concentrate on the job at hand. We are also aware of the cabals who believe the Ministry of Power is their birthright and want it back at all costs to continue their entrenched negative practices which have brought us to this state. The president is too astute to fall for such cheap blackmail. Adelabu’s track record as an achiever speaks for him and the president is aware of this and he has his reasons for putting him in that Ministry.
“We also have questions for those calling for Adelabu’s removal. Has anyone asked if one naira has been paid from the sector debt overhang that Adelabu raised? Has anybody asked If money has been made available to complete the over 120 unfinished projects at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)? What has been done to the frequent vernalization of the National Grid by the Security Operatives leading to Grid collapse? Did Adelabu midwife the Privatisation process that gave licenses to weak and financially troubled companies? What has been done to the inadequate gas supply to the Power Generating companies causing a shortfall in generation? Are all these caused by the Minister? Will changing the Minister resolve all these issues overnight?”
The PRA also noted that in the history of the sector, no Minister has displayed a full understanding of the sectorial issues and proffered workable solutions as Adelabu did. Anyone in doubt should go and listen to his interviews and speeches”.
“Olaoshebikan and Olatona also revealed that the information at their disposal does not indicate there is any cabinet reshuffle for now given the fact that there has not been a single Capital release for any ministry to execute its plan for 2024. “ So, it will be tough to even measure any Minister’s performance, except from policy thrust point of view and not an actual implementation”.
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