The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has claimed cartels and cabals are working against the nation to ensure it does not have a stable power supply.
Adelabu disclosed this on Thursday when he was in Ajah, Lagos State to launch a 63MVA, 132/33kV mobile substation installed under Phase 1 of the Presidential Power Initiative by the FGN Power Company in collaboration with Siemens Energy.
Speaking on the cartels preventing power growth, Adelabu asked them to stop being shortsighted, saying there are enough opportunities in the sector.
“I know is that there are cartels and there are cabals in this sector who think their business interest will be negatively affected if we have stable electricity. But they are just being myopic, they’re being shortsighted. There are lots of opportunities available in the sector that will compensate for whatever business loss that they think they are experiencing in their current business. So, it is a win-win.
“I don’t think stabilising the power sector will render anybody jobless or affect the business interest of anybody. It is a matter of you determining where to be because the business moves. The business world is dynamic. A business that is profitable today may not be profitable tomorrow.
“When you see the trend of business moving, you just click into the value chain and it is so huge for everybody such that if local investors are not interested, there are foreign investors interested in this sector,” Adelabu added.
Asked if the cabals are the ones importing generators, he replied: “I did not mention anybody’s name specifically. But whoever knows he belongs to the cartel or cabal should have a rethink and join us in this our transformation journey”.
The ministers maintained that “we are only scratching the surface in this country given the potentials that we have in our human and natural resources,” saying if “we add reliable electricity to it, the sky is our limit.”
He spoke further, “We’ve had over 40 ministers in the past, we are still at this same point. What is that thing that is not allowing us to achieve our plans for the sector? These are the fundamental issues the President Bola Tinubu administration is trying to address. When you are addressing it, of course, there will be resistance.
“There will be frustration because there are some people that do not want this sector to work because of their own personal selfish interest. But we are resolute in this our transformation journey, and we will not be intimidated. We will not be cowed into obscurity.
“Their resistance and abuses are like a tonic to me. The tonic that will incentivise us to do more”.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the FGN, Kenny Anuwe, said the event represented a vital addition to the nation’s infrastructure to enhance transmission wheeling capacity and reinforce the government’s commitment to providing better electricity access for all Nigerians.
“The 63MVA, 132/33kV Mobile Substation plays a critical role in upgrading transmission wheeling capacity and facilitating quick deployment to meet Nigeria’s growing energy demands.
“10 of them were procured and three have been installed while two will be commissioned by next week,” Anuwe said.
