Mohammed Shosanya
The Nigerian government has claimed it Nigeria cannot continue to subsidise electricity because of huge debts already incurred,the Federal Government has said.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu,who disclosed this a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said the country must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model, as the country is currently owing the tune of N1.3trillion to generating companies.
According to him, N450billion was budgeted for subsidies this year,despite the fact that the ministry requires more than N2trillion in subsidies, adding that state governments would now be able to generate power independently to supply power to their respective states.
He added that the grid had collapsed six times between December 2023 and now due to a lack of gas, ageing machines in the grid value chain, insufficient capacity to evacuate generated power, and the destruction of power stations in some parts of the country’s North-East geopolitical zone.
He mentioned that over N50 billion has been set aside in the 2024 budget to establish small grids to provide power to remote locations.
He warned power distribution businesses (DisCos) should sit up, or those found wanting will have their licence revoked.
The minister also stated that he had contacted Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to assist with the protection of power infrastructure.
