Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Wednesday declared that the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has overseen more national grid failures and power outages than any government in Nigeria’s history.
Obi, posting on X, recalled Tinubu’s campaign promise on 22 December 2022, stating, “If I Don’t Give You Constant Electricity in The Next 4 Years, Don’t Vote For Me For Second Term.”
He warned that Nigerians have already experienced the glaring consequences of the government’s inability to deliver reliable power.
He further criticised the current administration for repeated blackouts despite billions of naira invested in the power sector.
“Over the years, billions of dollars have been spent on the power sector in Nigeria. In fact, Nigeria has spent more on power generation with little or no increase in supply than countries like Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia, and Bangladesh,” Obi wrote.
Highlighting the economic implications, Obi said, “While other nations have doubled electricity generation and distribution, Nigeria has barely increased from 4,500MW to 5,000MW. Generating even a bare minimum of 10,000MW could raise our GDP by about 50%, unlock industrial growth, create millions of jobs, but instead, attention is on coastal roads which contribute far less to economic growth while factories shut down, jobs disappear, and businesses collapse.”
He called on the president to prioritise electricity generation and distribution, particularly to power small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), asserting, “A New Nigeria is POssible.”
