BY AKUDORO GLORIA
With a concerted effort to enhance the generation and distribution of power within the country, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has assured Nigerians of possible reduction in the cost of electricity tariff.
Adelabu gave the assurance during a meeting with the Executive Secretary of National Lottery Trust Fund, Mr. Tosin Adeyanju, who led the management team of the agency on a courtesy call at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
Highlighting the comparative affordability of Nigeria’s electricity prices in relation to neighbouring African countries, the Minister acknowledged the economic realities that make tariff rate appear steep for the average Nigerian consumer.
In a statement by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu however, explained that the cost-effectiveness of electricity is far cheaper than fuel-powered generators given the current economic reality of petrol and diesel.
Whilst stressing the sector’s readiness to collaborating with National Lottery Trust Fund in achieving the set objectives, he said the renewable power project of the ministry was established to address certain areas of the country that the grid does not cover.
“We will be very happy to work and partner with you on this project. We have agencies that are driving this renewable power project, using solar, wind and other alternative sources of power supply where the grid cannot reach. Such agency is our Rural Electricity Agency (REA) and they will be of great value to you in this project.
“All over the world today, we are faced with two basic issues and these are food and energy securities. We can see that the cost of gas is going up globally due partly to the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, we must be committed to providing electricity to our rural people, particularly the youths. We can see that even those of them who have learnt skills have abandoned those skills and are now riding okada for quick money.
“President Tinubu is committed to the transformation of Nigeria and youths and rural development are of his great concern. If Nigerians are patience, they will realise that the government means well for them,” the Minister said.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, National Lottery Trust Fund, Mr. Adeyanju, commended the Minister over his performance and the revitalization of confidence in the power sector marks a notable endorsement of the ongoing reforms and improvements since he assumed office.
As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, he said, the agency is working to get the youths, particularly in the rural areas, to become productive by training them on how to assemble one kilowatts of solar energy.
Adeyanju explained: “We have come to you to seek partnership with you on how we can train our rural people, particularly the youths, on how they can assemble one kilowatt of solar energy. This will help a long way in addressing youth restiveness by creating employment for them, particularly those who have acquired skills such as hair dressing, vulcanizing, welding and so on like that.
“This is part of our effort to help President Tinubu to achieve his aim of addressing the challenges of unemployment among the rural people and the youths in general. We want to carry this out in all the local government areas of the country and since we have seeing your commitment in this area of power supply, we have decided to approach your ministry for partnership to achieve this.”