Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says he will not promise Nigerians uninterrupted electricity within four years if elected president.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on
Sunday night, Obi said while improving electricity supply would be a priority
of his administration, it would be unrealistic to assure Nigerians of
nationwide 24-hour power within four years.
“I will not tell them I’m going to give them reliable,
stable, 24-hour electricity within four years,” Obi said.
“It is impossible because if you want to build a power
plant, it will take you about four years to build a power plant.
“If you want to build and improve our transmission line, it
will take you a number of years.”
Obi said his administration would instead focus on
significantly improving electricity generation, transmission and distribution
to make power supply more reliable across the country.
He pledged to ensure that Nigeria is able to generate,
transmit and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity consistently,
noting that the country’s current challenge lies more with transmitting and
distributing available power than generating it.
“We will be able to generate more than 10,000 megawatts. We
are doing that today—we are generating more than 10,000—but we are not able to
transmit that,” he said.
“I said we will be able to generate more than 10,000,
transmit and distribute that.”
The former Anambra governor said his administration would
pursue embedded power projects by replicating successful decentralised
electricity models already operating in parts of the country.
He cited the operations of Geometric Power in Aba as an
example that could be expanded to industrial hubs in other states to stimulate
economic activity.
“We will do it through embedded power. Look at what
Geometric Power is doing in Aba—we need to replicate that in locations like
Kano to drive the industries in Bompai and Sharada,” he said.
Obi also said restoring confidence in the electricity sector
would require the federal government to settle outstanding debts owed to
electricity generation companies, which he said had discouraged investment.
“Today, the government owes generating companies trillions
of naira. We must pay them,” he said.
“Our politics must change; if I don’t deliver what I
promise, I will come out and explain to the people what is going wrong.”
He noted that his administration would prioritise realistic
commitments and transparent governance rather than making promises that could
not be fulfilled within a single presidential term.
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