Immediate past Minister/Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman has posited that the nation’s power supply would greatly improve if incidences of insecurity in various parts of the country abate.
The former minister who also acknowledged a renewed sense of patriotism among Nigerians as being partly responsible for the noticeable improvement however acknowledged that the huge investment by the Goodluck Jonathan administration greatly accounted for the noticeable improvement in the sector.
He spoke, Monday, at a workshop on; Mechanism of Renewable Energy Utilization and Development for Developing Countries, 2015 in Changsha, China.
The erstwhile minister whose paper centred on; Renewable Energy in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospect, noted that Nigeria is richly endowed in the energy sector.
Describing Nigeria as a leading economy in Africa and the 26th largest in the world, Sulaiman noted that as a key actor within the globe, the country requires quantum of energy to boost her GDP and propel the economy.
Stressing the need to more investment in Nigeria’s energy sector, he however declared that “no amount of investment in this sector could yield any significant dividends, if the atmosphere of insecurity and vandalism persists.
“Security situation characterised by the activities of vandals, saboteurs and terrorists remain a major impediment to our realization of virile and viable energy attainment in Nigeria,” he added.
On the noticeable improvement in power supply in Nigeria, he said: “Yes, there is a renewed sense of patriotism among Nigerians, but more than anything, this development largely resulted from the huge investment of the Jonathan administration, especially the commissioning of multiple power plants in the last days of the administration.
“What I am saying here is that this improvement was promised by the then president during our campaign. So, there is really nothing new.”
He stressed the need for resource as a major factor for a nation striving to grow and develop, adding that “as such, a vibrant energy policy is expected to have greater positive impact in the growth pattern of the economy.”
