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It’s not FG’s problem if Nigerians lack electricity – Fashola
If you don ’ t have electricity , it is not the Federal Government ’ s problem, the Minister of Power , Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola , has declared .Fashola , who disclosed this while speaking at the Nextier Power Dialogue on Wednesday night in Abuja , told his listeners that there were problems in the power sector , but reminded them that it was not the Federal Government ’ s problem if citizens in the country do not have electricity , especially since the sector was privatised.
He said, “There are problems without a doubt and we must deal with them . But let me remind you , all of the assets that the Ministry of Power used to control for power have been sold by the last administration before I came . And so if you don ’ t have power , it is not the government’ s problem. Let us be honest .
“The people who are operating the power sector , generation and distribution are now privately owned companies . I am here because I am concerned . If your telephone is not working , it is not the minister of communication that you go to. Let us be very clear . ”
The minister added , “So for those of you who want to weaponise electricity , face the businessmen who have taken it up. Let us be honest . If your bank over – charges you interest , is it the minister of finance you go to ? So let ’ s be clear . This is now a private business by Act of parliament 2005.
“My role is regulatory , oversight and policy, but I have a problem which is the fact that I can ’ t see a problem and turn my back , so I ’ m getting involved . So the people you should be talking to about transformers is not me, the ministry doesn ’ t supply transformers anymore . ”
Fashola further defended his position after another participant at the dialogue insisted that the minister supervises the ministry and that the Gencos and Discos were players under the FMPWH .
Taking a cue from the analogy given by the participant while answering the question asked , the minister said, “I think that NERC ( Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) is the referee of the game . I am FIFA ( Federation of International Football Association ) . And it is not right as you said that FIFA gets involved , because whether the referee makes a mistake or not the goal stands .
“ So the FIFA man does not enter the field to say go and change the result , but it ’ s an interesting analogy that I ’ ve also contemplated in my head and that ’ s why you didn ’ t catch me by too much surprise. However , it is important to allow the referee to continue to decide the game because investors like to know who decides. ”
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