By Vera Samuel Anyagafu

The Founder and President, Good Governance Initiative (GGI), Mr. Festus Mbisiogu has expressed the need for the incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that Nigeria enjoys uninterrupted power supply to enable progressive economic growth. Mbisiogu, who stated that a recent research showed that Nigerians spend about N150 billion on a yearly basis to generate power for use both at homes and offices, also said that the situation is not benefiting the poor masses.

He explained that the unavailability of electricity in the country is the major drawback to industrialization, saying that, “It is unimaginable that at this time in the history of our great country, we are losing focus on issues most imperative to economic growth”. He told Vanguard that it is disappointing to know that a good number of industries in Nigeria have collapsed either as a result of insufficient power generation or the inability to conveniently maintain the high cost of servicing generating sets.

According to Mbisiogu, the use of generating sets in the country has contributed to avoidable deaths, “It is unimaginable that at this time in the history of our great country, we are losing some of our brightest of our generation to avoidable accidents such as this. Every day, we read stories in the newspapers, listen to radio and watch television where are we are being bombarded with gory stories of tragic events in the energy sector.

“It is the urge to avoid such tragic incidents that I decided to champion the course of steady power supply in the country under the aegis of Good Governance Initiative (GGI) a Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to achieving sustainable energy in Nigeria.” He further explained that GCI is more committed to advocating and ensuring that  policies and directions of government in respect of steady electricity in the country is not overlooked, in addition to educating Nigerians on how best to manage the prevailing energy situation in the country.

“In August-September 2013, when the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was completed and 10 Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and five Generation Companies (GENCOs) effectively took over the defunct PHCN, some of us heaved a sigh of relief. It was very thoughtful on the part of President Goodluck Jonathan who heeded to the cries of many of us in unbundling that government authority, which had been bogged down by officialdom, bureaucracy, and inefficiency.

“We regard the development as a great milestone in the Power Sector Reform Roadmap, intended to give hope to Nigerians and inspire confidence in government’s power reform programme and President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda.” ”We are still lagging behind. It is evident that the beneficiaries of this new paradigm in the energy sector are the government and the investors whose interests are being protected. The interests of the citizens are left unprotected.