Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, has condemned the continuous power outage experienced in various states in the country.
Describing the situation as ”heartbreaking,” Obi lamented that the one-week old blackout experienced in many Northern States has further revealed the inadequacies of the federal government.
Chronicle NG reported a power outage on Monday, 21 October 2024, in the North-East, North-West, and parts of North-Central after the 330 kV Ugwaji-Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 tripped around 4:53 am “due to a fault.”
The power outage has since thrown the regions into perpetual darkness, leaving residents to seek alternative sources to get power.
Speaking on the situation, Obi stated in a statement on his X page on Sunday that ”The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.”
The former governor of Anambra State also mentioned that the power outage, coupled with the high cost of living and hike in the price of petrol, ”remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country.”
Obi said, ”The continued power outages in many parts of the country, particularly in the Northern and Eastern States, as well as South-South states, have remained a cause of grievous concern.”
”It is heartbreaking to see that the affected states, majorly in the northern parts of Nigeria, have been facing a total blackout for several days now.
”The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.
”This power crisis, when combined with the present high cost of petroleum products and a harsh operating environment, remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country.”
Obi advised the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government to solve Nigeria’s power crisis by emulating other African countries with a better power sector.
Obi said, ”I have consistently maintained that solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science.”
”Many of our comparable peer nations have demonstrated how possible it is to provide sustainable power for their citizens.
”Our African neighbour, Egypt, for example, invested aggressively in their power sector, which resulted in the establishment of a sustainable power infrastructure by way of many power stations.
”Today, Egypt has revolutionised power and energy production in the country, providing sustainable power to millions of small businesses, which account for over 90% of active enterprises in the country and contribute to over 80 percent of their GDP.
”My sincere thoughts are with everyone enduring these tough times in our nation.
”I call on the government to ramp up efforts and provide both immediate and long-term solutions to this seemingly perennial challenge.
”With adequate power supply, a New Nigeria is possible.”
However, The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says its linesmen have identified the fault responsible for the power outage on the Ugwuaji-Apir 330-kilovolt (kV) double-circuit transmission line.
Providing an update in a statement on Wednesday, the company’s general manager of public affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the fault was discovered in the Igumale area of Benue State.
According to Mbah, the one-span fault spot was discovered as a tripped 330kV transmission line in Igumale, Benue State’s swampy woodland.
”Having made the discovery earlier in the evening of Wednesday, arrangements are already ongoing to mobilise equipment and materials that would be moved to the site of the incident to commence repair works.
“A team of linesmen from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has discovered the fault on the Ugwuaji-Apir 330KV Double Circuit transmission line at about 5 pm this evening, in the Igumale area of Benue State,” the statement reads.
