The Minister of State for Power, Hon. Muhammad Wakil, has declared that the opposition has no credible alternative to the ongoing successful reform in the power sector.
Wakil stated this during the signing of Memoranda of Understanding between his Ministry and two Consortiums – Huawei Technologies of China and Bravos/Power China – in his Office in Abuja.
On the privatization of the power sector, the Minister said Nigeria is now a model to copy as the Ghanaian Minister of Power, Kwabena Donkor, was in Nigeria last week to tap from the success achieved in Nigeria’s power privatization exercise.
The Minister described the opposition plan on power sector as just a mere repetition of several policies of the Peoples Democratic Party government, which has already been implemented, while others are ongoing.
Wakil said he read the opposition’s plan for the sector and has no hesitation to affirm that the PDP government has successfully privatized the power sector with much focus on renewable energy like solar, wind, coal, small and medium hydro-power plants, stressing that emphasis would be placed on renewable energy to avoid incidences of gas pipeline vandalism which had over the years disrupted delivery of gas to thermal plants.
Wakil also noted that the Ministry is presently training over 7,400 young entrepreneurs through the National Power Sector Apprenticeship Scheme on joint volters, fitters, sub-station operators and young engineers, to provide able and sufficient workmen for the sector’s power plants, promised to assist the consortium in acquiring the necessary licences.
Earlier, the Vice-President of Huawei Technologies, Richard Cao, stated that the MoU was the outcome of the Wakil’s earlier visit to China to woo investors into the Nigerian power industry.
Cao further revealed that his company has the capacity to provide solar power 24/7 to rural communities in Nigeria.
He said his company will continue to partner with government in ensuring the provision of uninterrupted power supply to the country.
In his response, the Vice-Chairman of Bravos Energy, the Group’s local partner, Lawson Osagie, renewable energy holds the answer to energy deficit.
Osagie thereby reiterated the consortium’s willingness to providing clean energy to Nigerians.
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