Electricity: Expert calls for total privatization of power industry

Kano state Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Power Engineers (NIPE) Engineer David Omoloye has Friday said that, the ever increasing gap between power demand and supply has been a great challenge to Nigeria’s development as the nation’s population keeps increasing not proportionally to power demand. Speaking during NIPE Kano branch’s inaugural and investiture ceremony held […]

Kano state Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Power Engineers (NIPE) Engineer David Omoloye has Friday said that, the ever increasing gap between power demand and supply has been a great challenge to Nigeria’s development as the nation’s population keeps increasing not proportionally to power demand.

Speaking during NIPE Kano branch’s inaugural and investiture ceremony held in the state, Engineer Omoloye said that the solution lies in total privatization of the power industry to allow capital inflow coupled with right tariff structure that will protect the poor and encourage industrial development.

“The social economic problem in Nigeria has its root cause in the underdevelopment of the power industry and since power development is highly capital intensive. It is apparent that the investment required to raise the bar of the industry to comfort zone cannot be singlehandedly supplied by government, there by mandating the need for total privatization,” he said.

In his goodwill address, NIPE national chairman Engineer Abraham Israel stated that NIPE was created to focus on the power industry and scale up power development to meet Nigeria’s power needs adding that NIPE in Kano will team up will all stakeholders to lift the state and the nation to a position of excellence in the power industry.