The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi has said he will not promise Nigerians uninterrupted electricity within four years if elected president.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, Obi said while improving electricity supply would be a top priority of his administration, it would be unrealistic to promise Nigerians of nationwide 24-hour power within four years.
The former governor of Anambra State has consistently reiterated that he would serve only a single four-year term if elected, saying his administration would focus on laying the foundation for long-term economic transformation.
“24-hour electricity within 4 years is impossible. If you want to build a power plant, it takes about 4 years. Improving transmission lines also takes years”, he said.
However, rather than making what he described as unrealistic promises, Obi said his administration would focus on raising the country’s electricity output by ensuring Nigeria can generate, transmit and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity.
“But within 4 years, we will ensure we can generate, transmit, and distribute not less than 10,000 Megawatts.”
He said this would be achieved through embedded power projects by replicating successful private-sector electricity models across different parts of the country.
According to Obi, the model deployed by Geometric Power in Aba demonstrates how decentralised electricity generation can support industrial clusters and should be expanded to other states.
“We will do it through embedded power. Look at what Geometric Power is doing in Aba—we need to replicate that in locations like Kano to drive the industries in Bompai and Sharada.”
Obi also said the Federal Government must clear the trillions of naira owed to electricity generation companies, arguing that restoring confidence in the sector is critical to attracting investment.
“Today, the government owes generating companies trillions of Naira. We must pay them. Our politics must change; if I don’t deliver what I promise, I will come out and explain to the people what is going wrong.”
