ABUJA – The President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, Mr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola, has warned that the nation may not reap the benefits of the ongoing reforms in the power sector due to the absence of the “right professionals” in its conception and implementation.

He further called on the National Assembly to address the improper composition of the board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, which has only one engineer as a member.

Ajibola, who noted this on Friday at a news conference on the International Engineering Conference and Annual Conference in Abuja, explained that previous government efforts at reform in power and infrastructure had “failed abysmally due to neglect of professional input” by government officials.

According to the NSE President, a Roadmap for Power was recently developed “without any input from the Nigerian Society of Engineers, while nominations to the board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission recently sent to the National Assembly initially had only a single Engineer out of the Seven Commissioners.”

He explained that Section 34 subsection 1, 2, 3 of the NERC Act states that the Commission shall consist of Seven full time commissioners appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate.

“According to the Act, in selecting potential nominees, the president shall ensure that individuals are chosen from both the public and private sectors, for their experience or professional qualifications in the following fields or areas of competence including generation, transmission, system operation, distribution or marketing of electricity.

“From the foregoing, it is clear that most of the seven commissioners are envisaged to be core power engineering professionals including the main driver – the chairman,” he stated

He therefore called on the National Assembly to use its power of oversight functions to correct the anomaly.

“The composition as it is now cannot guarantee the achievements of the original intention for setting up the commission. The Federal Government must not only put the right policies in place it must also ensure that the right professionals are used if it tends to make any headway in the power sector,” Ajibola stated.

He recalled that the NSE had in the past submitted a position paper on the roadmap to sustainable power supply in the country, and recommended an all-inclusive stakeholders’ forum for interest groups and professionals to rub minds on how to meet power demand in the country.

Ajibola  said, “The ministry at first bought the idea and even fixed a date for such a forum, but backed out along the line. The Federal Government would be wasting the funds on power if the foundation is not solid as has been the case in the past.

“In the first place, the power professionals must occupy the right positions in the sector and all stakeholders must be consulted and carried along.”

He further argued, “At the NSE, we believe that investment in power must be systematically and strategically planned, involving all stakeholders in a manner that would be sustainable. There is the need for the exploration of other means of generating electricity like wind, solar and coal other than gas and hydro sources.”