Challenges in power sector are man-made not technical - Fashola

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has stated that contrary to certain insinuations, the current challenges in the power sector are man-made, not technical.

This was as the Minister disclosed that some of the key challenges came as a result of the debt owed contractors in the sector.

A document by Vanguard quoted the minister as saying, “indebtedness to contractors, lack of project supervision and discipline in managing contracts that were not budgeted for or if budgeted for, were poorly funded.

“The Ministry had evolved clear roadmaps that were already being implemented to achieve sustainable solutions to the problems in the three critical sectors.”

Blaming the situation in the sector on insufficient power to distribute, Fashola listed projects currently being implemented to increase availability of power to include: “the 450MegaWatts (MW) Azura Power Plant in Edo State, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro Power Plant in Niger State, the Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna, the Kashimbilla Plant and the 115MW Kaduna Plant.”

He also listed areas where transmission expansion projects are currently ongoing to strengthen transmission to include: the Eastern Axis where the Ikot-Ekpene-Alaoji transmission project takes off up to Enugu from where it would boost power all the way to Makurdi, adding that the local issues that earlier hindered work have been resolved.

Disclosing some of the projects at the transmission line, Fashola stated that work is currently ongoing at the Kano-Kaduna Transmission Station, Lambe Transmission Station, Kumbotsu Transmission Station and the Alagbon Transmission Station in Lagos, while the Okada transmission station in Edo State has been completed.


Recall that the former Lagos State governor had in September while saying there will be no power shot down , said debt in the power sector was a continuous thing.

“….debts were not incurred by this administration, and that debt and settlement are continuous events in the power value chain, bills are served, claims are made, they are verified and settled,” Fashola had said.