Don't consider reversing power sector privatisation – Minister advises Buhari.

The Minister of Power Prof.Chinedu Nebo while addressing Journalists in Abuja on Wednesday advised the incoming Government never to try to reverse the power industry privatization.He stated that he knows that the President elect will be ”ill-advised” to reverse it but that the gains of the privatization were very obvious and any attempt to reverse it will take Nigerians many decades back.

“I think the incoming government will be ill-advised to reverse privatisation and liberalisation of power generation, transmission and distribution because any attempt to do that would be to set Nigeria back many many many decades,” the minister said.

“The gains of privatisation are very obvious. If we can solve the problem of gas like we are talking about energy mix, we are not just going by gas we are doing hydros. It was this same administration that flagged off Zungeru hydro power plants for 750 megawatts, and is a bid to flag off mambilla 3,050 megawatts, Shiroro has been improved, revamped, Kanji revamped and improved, the same as Jebba.

“So there is a lot of work being done by the government. However to turn back on privatization would mean stopping all of these companies and then reversing the massive inflow of investments coming into the power sector. Nigeria’s power consumption per capita is one of the lowest in the world and that is part of the efforts of government to reverse that. So I don’t think it is in the best interest of the country,” he said.

Yesterday Wednesday the Federal Executive Council approved a new draft National Policy on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, NPREEE.