APC Chieftain To Tinubu: Are We Not Embarrassed That After Spending $16 Billion, Nigerians Still Lack Adequate Electricity?

The APC stalwart argued that privatizing the sector would lead to higher energy prices, job losses, and factory closures.

He emphasized that the only way to save the sector and the country’s economy is through recapitalization and restructuring.

Okechukwu advised President Tinubu to follow Albert Einstein’s principle, suggesting that continuing to invest public funds in profit-driven “oligopolies” while expecting sufficient electricity output is unreasonable.

He lamented the government’s high expenditure on electricity, which still leaves Nigerians without adequate power.

He said, “Mr. President, we are in an economic crisis similar to the UK after World War II, where the Labour Party revitalized the economy by nationalizing key industries like electricity, leading to the generation of 30,000 megawatts in under 20 years.

“Why can’t we invest $30 billion to generate 30,000 megawatts in less than 10 years under public ownership?

“When Margaret Thatcher privatized the sector in the 1980s, there was a renewed call for public ownership in the UK, as neoliberal policies often increase poverty and result in job losses.”

Okechukwu recalled that when they warned about the lack of transparency in the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government’s privatization process, with neither Foreign Direct Investment nor foreign investor participation, no one listened.

He stated that the current situation, where the government has spent billions to bail out the stagnating DISCOs, has only resulted in generating less than 4,000 megawatts.

When asked about the perceived improvement in electricity supply, he disagreed strongly, comparing it to an April Fool’s joke.

“Are we not embarrassed that after spending $16 billion on NIPP and countless billions more, 200 million people are still rationing less than 4,000 megawatts of electricity?

“Mr. President, we need to find the socioeconomic will to borrow $30 billion and generate 30,000 megawatts under public ownership in less than 10 years,” he added.