FG Apologizes to Nigerians For Failure To Supply Electricity

This was contained in a statement issued by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja.

The minister, who blamed the drop in power supply on gas failure and vandalization of power infrastructure, added that the routine maintenance by the Nigeria Gas Company also affected the supply of gas to power stations, forcing down power supply from an all-time high of 5,074 MW to about 4,000MW.

The minister assured that the government was swiftly working on rectifying and improving the power situation in the country.

“There will be a decent improvement in the power situation from this weekend, thanks to ongoing remedial efforts that will double the current power supply to 4,000WM. Getting back to the 5,074MW all-time high that was reached earlier will take a few more weeks,” he assured.

“The vandalization of the Forcados export pipelines forced oil companies to shut down, making it impossible for them to produce gas. Then, workers at the Ikeja Discos, who were protesting the disengagement of some of their colleagues after they failed the company’s competency test, apparently colluded with the National Transmission Station in Osogbo to shut down transmission.

“Finally, the unfortunate strike by the unions at the NNPC, over the restructuring of the Corporation, shut down the Itarogun Power Station, the biggest in the country.

“Due to these factors, only 13 out of the 24 power stations in the country are currently functioning. It is this same kind of unsavoury situation that has affected fuel supply and subjected Nigerians to untold hardship,” he explained.

While condemning the situation in which some Nigerians, under the guise of the various unions in the oil and gas sector or sheer vandalization, continuously sabotage the country’s power infrastructure, the minister noted that as long as these groups of Nigerians continue to sabotage the power infrastructure, Nigerians cannot enjoy a decent level of power supply.

“We therefore admonish all Nigerians who may be agitating for their rights in whatever form to refrain from any action that will further hurt the same people they claim to be protecting,” he cautioned.