Obasanjo Blames Jonathan, Others For Poor Power Supply

A former President Olusegun Obasanjo has blamed the rot in the country’s power sector on his successors, including the current President, Goodluck Jonathan.

Obasanjo disclosed this while speaking at the ‘First Green Legacy Moment with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Leadership and Human Security in Africa’ in Abeokuta, Ogun State, The Punch reports.
According to the former President, the foundation for the current little supply of electricity being enjoyed by the country was experienced by his administration.
He said subsequent administrations after his reign as a military ruler between 1976 and 1979 failed to do anything in the sector in terms of power generation and distribution till he returned to power in 1999 as the elected president.
He said: “Part of our problems is lack of political will on the part of the leaders. What does a leader understands about development? Any leader worth his salt should know that power is very important. It is the driver of all developments, be it social, economic, and even political.


“When I was military head of state, I developed the Jebba Dam, I developed Shiroro, I started Egbin. (Ex-President Shehu) Shagari came and completed Egbin and commissioned Jebba and Shiroro.
“Between Shagari in 1983, until I came back in 1999, there was no single dime invested in power generation. If anything, the ones that were there were allowed to go down.

“A country like Nigeria must be adding not less than 2,000 megawatts every year if we are to be moving on the path of development.”

Obasanjo wondered what year Nigeria power sector will improve, saying: “What year will Nigeria get there if we are adding 2,000 megawatts each year? For us to get to 100,000 mega watts, I leave the mathematics to you. It sounds very discouraging but that is the reality.”

Recall that last month, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo has disclosed that the poor electricity supply across the country was because power generation had dropped by 1,000 megawatts.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria had on August 29, 2014, promised to ensure stable power supply by October 2014. This was trailed by controversy, as many Nigerians doubted it.



Obasanjo became Nigeria’s civilian president in 1999 after which he handed over to the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007 while President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office after the death of Yar’Adua in May, 2010.