Speaking yesterday in Abuja, the Kwara State governor noted that there was no assurance from government to create an enabling latitude for the private sector in the area of power generation and therefore, they would be reluctant to invest.
“The power problem isn’t such an insurmountable task. But don’t put government money to turn around power. It will not work. It has to be private sector driven.
“There are people who are ready to put their money, but they need the assurance of government on generation. Let government, with its own resources, drive transmission; it can also intervene at the level of distribution.’’
The Kwara State governor lamented the level of decay in the sector, which he said: “doesn’t need rocket science to solve. Our country sits atop an ocean of oil, yet we cannot keep the lights on.
The power is literally beneath our feet- and yet we are frustrated everyday that the power runs out. Our major cities and villages are plunged into darkness on a regular basis. Businesses spend billions of naira on diesel to run them; money that could be invested in better equipment or more employees or better wages.
“Instead, such money goes up in smoke. Visitors to other countries that are our peers - without our size, without our resources and without our industry - report that they have regular power and that it is more reliable than here in Nigeria.’’
The PDP presidential aspirant promised to replicate what he claimed to have done in Kwara, a state he disclosed now enjoys 80 per cent power stability through investment in power projects. “In Kwara, we have chosen not to remain in darkness.
Like most states, we did not have reliable power. Every pledge to fix our states major power projects failed. I believe the proverb that it is better to light a single candle than to curse darkness; so as governor of Kwara State, I went to work.
“Our state government stepped in and completed the power project. Energy costs have fallen by 80 per cent for many Kwara State businesses and industries and power supply has become significantly more stable in our homes. Things are not perfect, but they continue to improve,’’
Governor Saraki promised that his presidency would have zero-tolerance for corruption, as it had undermined the nation’s progress, right from the pre-colonial days.
“To be sure, the corruption was here under the British, before we gained independent. But it is also true that corruption did not leave with the British. A new generation of leadership means we are held to a new standard of transparency. In Kwara State, we have made the state’s finances transparent and open to public review.”
We were the first state to do so. As president, I will not tolerate corruption. And as citizens, you should not either.
“Corruption means stealing from our children health, our children education, our children future.’’
Restating the call for generational shift, the PDP presidential aspirant observed that there had been a failure in leadership and only the change being canvassed by the Nigerian youth would restore the nation anew.
“Once again, we are at a critical point in our history. Now, it is time for a new generation of Nigerians to write a new chapter. I call on this new generation of Nigerians to cast off the expectations of defeat, to rise above disease and decline and despair- to build a vibrant Nigeria.’’
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