Peter Obi, the Labor Party’s presidential candidate, declared that he will separate the transmission lines under a directive that allows whatever is produced to be distributed accordingly, adding that if elected, Nigeria would declare a state of emergency in its producing sector. of energy to achieve at least 20,000MW in 4 years.

Obi revealed this alongside his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed on the Channels Television series Townhall.

He also hinted that Nigeria is underutilizing its geographic seaport potential and urged it to work with the private sector to build and run ports for economic diversification.

Energy production: Obi hinted that his administration has no choice but to make it work, urging Nigeria to learn from the examples of South Africa and Egypt.

  • “We are going to make it work.
  • “What we have to do is unbundle the transmission line first, because today we are generating up to 10,000 MW, but the transmission lines cannot transport that (the network) by unbundling the transmission lines, supporting the DisCos to make sure that at least what is produced is distributed accordingly, which must be done under a guideline.
  • “So we have to open up like South Africa has done for its energy, even with a population of 60 million, they are generating, almost more than 40,000MW, they declared an emergency and said anyone can generate up to 100MW without a license..

He added that if South Africa, which generates nearly 50,000 MW, can declare such an energy emergency, it will declare war on Nigerian power generation.

Lessons from Egypt: The Labor Party candidate also hinted that Egypt recently repositioned its power sector and in a few years went from 20,000MW to 50,000MW in production capacity.

  • “Egypt did the same, they had about 20,000MW, and they discovered from studies that energy is a critical issue, today they generate almost 50,000MW.
  • “If this can be done around us, why not Nigeria, within 4 years, we should be able to generate no less than 20,000 MW, it will be a war.

Datti Baba-Ahmed, his vice-presidential candidate, added that Nigerians must also be willing to cooperate with the FG to fix power, citing that a new era of pricing is also needed. He said:

  • “Why buy cheap fuel and buy more expensive security, as long as there is domestic demand driven by a new government that is able to save from waste, the marginal increase will bring it to a level where we are paying realistically? commercial price level for energy or electricity”.
  • “Nigerians need to develop a people-wise attitude because a government doesn’t operate in a vacuum, they need to be understanding and Nigerian participation is important.
  • “We have to understand that this is a new era of pricing, there is an era in which it was taken for granted that electricity had to be cheap, now you have to pay commercial rates.
  • “If people don’t pay the market rate, it won’t work.

Improved port infrastructure: Obi noted that 20 years ago the largest port in terms of operations was Singapore, which today is in position 4 or 5 (superseded by 3 ports in China), citing that it is a dynamic industry, adding that his administration will reduce waste and “dismantle the confusion” by the FG.

  • “The Nigerian Ports Authority has offices in London, to run a port in Nigeria, we will dismantle this confusion and make the country work.
  • “It’s not rocket science, the port is not difficult, Nigeria has a lot of port potential from Ibom to the Port Harcourt terminal started by Shagari and not yet fully operational.
  • “I will change it by bringing in the private sector to build ports and run them in collaboration with the government.”