Vice President Kashim Shettima has said there is no way the country will dream of meaningful national economic development without addressing the power sector crisis and ensuring Nigerians have access to electricity and other affordable energy. He urged leaders in the country to rise above differences to confront the power sector crisis and become part of the reincarnation of Nigeria as an industrialized nation.
The Vice President stated this on Thursday when he inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC) Ad Hoc Committee on National Electrification and NEC Ad Hoc Committee on Polio Eradication at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Speaking while inaugurating the ad hoc committee on National Electrification, Shettima made reference to countries with similar challenges of energy insufficiency, such as Indonesia, India, South Africa, and Uganda, pointing out that they were already in the league of those at the forefront of post-industrial revolution. “One common thing with these countries and others in the post-industrial revolution community is that they have largely resolved the issue of energy insufficiency. “There is no doubt that we cannot dream of meaningful national economic development without addressing the issue in the power sector and ensuring that Nigerians have accessible, available and affordable energy,” he stated.
Regretting that an estimated 40-70 percent of Nigerians have no formal access to electricity, Shettima said he was comforted by the knowledge that the calibre and experiences of state Governors and other members of the committee “will definitely change the narrative in a positive trajectory.” He acknowledged the basic challenges in the nation’s power sector, especially the national grid which has been witnessing system collapse. The Vice President however expressed hope that there would soon be significant improvement following the recent reforms in the energy sector which have opened the sector, “not only to the participation of, otherwise, excluded players, but also to attract investments, both foreign and local. “I believe we are well endowed with resources, be it gas, hydro or solar, that allows us to have an optimal energy mix and leverage these resources to build a sector in a resilient manner that ensures energy security for every Nigerian,” he added.
He urged members of the National Electrification ad hoc committee to come on board and work for the nation. He said, “I wish you the best as you embark on this critical assignment, and I want to assure you of my availability as you discharge this onerous as- signment. With this, I here- by inaugurate the NEC ad hoc committee on National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan.” While inaugurating the NEC ad hoc committee on Polio Eradication, Shettima urged members of the committee and stakeholders to reinvigorate efforts to confront the re-emergence of the disease head-on. He said, “If at all we have relied heavily on assistance from partners to address the devastation caused to our people by this disease, it is time to take a determined step to eradicate this disease from our people. I am confident we can do it if we work collectively and collaboratively with partners and all the stakeholders.”
The Vice President discouraged short-term measures in tackling polio, urging the committee members to come up with long-term measures, including the local production of polio vaccines. He said, “We cannot fight this virus, by constantly responding to its recurrence, as short-term measures will always fail. We must develop a futuristic plan, and this calls for a long-term approach to containing the virus. “It is in this regard that we must take seriously the overarching need for the local production of polio vaccines. This, I believe, will ensure that we take a long-term view of the containment of the virus and ultimately its extermination in the future. “It is clear that we should never rest on our oars, as the virus keeps mutating and reemerging in new forms such as the new variant in Kano and Sokoto, but it is heartening that these states have taken firm action to confront the new variant”.
