President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lamented that Nigeria’s power sector is stuck in a vicious cycle of underperformance and lack of investment.
The President made the disclosure at the annual Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry Market Participants and Stakeholders Roundtable held in Abuja on Monday this week.
Tinubu, who is represented by Sodiku Wanka, Special Adviser on Energy and Infrastructure in the Office of the Vice President, said that 10 years after the privatization of the power sector in November 2013, more than 90 million Nigerians still lack access to electricity. It was criticized for not being available.
He said the sector suffers from a chronic lack of investment, particularly in electricity transmission and distribution.
He said Discos needed at least a N2 trillion recapitalization to revitalize its performance in this important value chain.
“The sector suffers from chronic underinvestment, particularly in electricity transmission and distribution. Many of PHCN’s successor utilities have failed to meet performance improvement targets due to technical and financial capacity issues.
“We are stuck in a vicious cycle of underperformance and underinvestment, and everyone has different views on which value chain companies are to blame for the continued decline in the sector.
“According to preliminary analysis, today’s discos are undercapitalized at close to N2 trillion naira.
“We need to accelerate the process of restructuring and recapitalization, bringing in new partners and capital to reinvigorate performance in this important part of the value chain,” he said.
[GNN], [DPNG]
