Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, chastised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for the sixth time in seven months for the failure of the nation’s national grid.
This comes as Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, has proposed a solution to the country’s power sector challenges.
Obi described the current administration’s failure in the power sector as negative parameters that were not only benchmarks for governance failure, but also a compelling catalyst for leadership change in his verified social media handles.
“Reports of the national power grid collapsing for the sixth time in seven months are concerning,” he wrote. Many Nigerians have been left in the dark and without power once more.
“Such negative parameters are not only indicators of governance failure; they are also a strong motivator for leadership change.”
He charged the federal government with upholding its statutory obligations to prevent socioeconomic incidents that cause extreme shock and stress among the people of the country.
“The national bakers’ strike reflects the high level of stress in both the productive realm of our economy and the quality of life in a country where many people go to bed hungry.”
“Also, the inability to obtain bread, one of the most basic and affordable daily sustenances for the average Nigerian, translates to a national crisis,” he added.
The innovative financing solution, according to Atiku, would entail facilitating a review of the financial, legal, and regulatory environment in order to encourage private investment in the sector.
“I am reliably informed that there was a total National Grid Collapse today at precisely 12:23pm,” Atiku tweeted on Wednesday. There have been far too many collapses. This is the sixth time this year that this has happened.
“Because the power sector is critical to the success of other sectors, I am proposing innovative infrastructure financing, including the facilitation of a review of the financial, legal, and regulatory environment to encourage private investment in power, among other sectors.”
I will advocate for tax breaks to encourage a group of private-sector institutions to form an Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF), which will primarily mobilize domestic and international private resources for the financing and delivery of large infrastructure projects across all sectors of the economy.
“The initial investment capacity of the IDF will be around $20 billion.” Furthermore, I will advocate for the creation of an Infrastructure Development Credit Guarantee Agency to supplement IDF operations by de-risking infrastructure investments and increasing investor confidence in taking risks and investing capital.”
