Pressure mounts on Buhari to review energy sector

… as experts chide poor handling of the sector by immediate administration

OREDOLA ADEOLA
Major players in the energy sector have mounted pressure on the President Mohammadu Buhari to review the dwindling fortunes of power sector. This is against the backdrop of the infrastructural decay and other forms of irregularities that have characterized the sector under the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

 
According to Mr. Kola Adesina Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Sahara Energy, the various power infrastructures presently used in evacuating power across the country are inadequate. He said that the measure would help to address the various issues surrounding the sector.
He said “Aggregated available domestic gas cannot wheel more than 5000 megawatts and the available transmission lines may not take 5000 megawatts. There are however some new plants that may help generation if there is gas.”

 
He further stated that Nigerians must learn to pay more in electricity tariff if we must move forward. “The only way out is if government can afford to pay subsidy. I have been long enough to know that government will often wish to pay but will often and always fail,” he added.
Adesina explained that the electricity market is largely unmetered and there is no market or regulation for non- existent or unmetered goods.

 
He also said that over 60 percent of the power problem is tied to theft in the sector. According to him, “We must stop stealing electricity. This is 60 percent of the problem. Even the elite, people in authority, barracks, government offices, state houses, universities, most Asian companies in Nigeria consume huge sums of energy without paying.
“Some homes bypass prepaid meters and turn around and ask for more. I have managed our Egbin plant before and after privatization and we are being owed almost N30 billion  after operating for less than two years.
“We in turn have not been able to pay our gas bills resulting in minimized gas supply. We must all gear up and not blame both outgoing and incoming governments for our own faults. Whenever you notice anybody misusing or stealing electricity around you, be courageous enough to stop him and not to expect that Buhari is coming with a magic wand.”

 
Specifically, he added that the problem with power sector and all sectors and every other thing in Nigeria is of lack of information about all our problems by rulers and the ordinary Nigerian.
“The problem with the sector is that we learn to put blames on our leaders and fail to see we are part of the problems. We only cry when we are affected and not when the nation is affected.
As long as we see some people as super humans when they really are not, so long shall we continue to hope for solutions that will never come,” he said.

 
However, the Principal Consultant, LONADEK Nigeria Limited, a firm of oil and gas consultants, Dr. Ibilola Amao, stated that the decay in the oil and gas industry for sometime, can be attributed to the frequent changes in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
According to her, “There were quite a lot of legitimate oil and gas activities stalled because the NNPC Board did not meet as frequently as required (the NNPC Board must meet regularly and submit report progress report – mandatorily).
“GMD’s were sacked and replaced in a very haphazard manner and too many critical decisions were left to the whims and caprices of Madam Minister.

 
“Also, a lot of fraudulent activities and practices characterized Nigeria’s downstream activities,” she said.
She also said that the subsidy regime was flawed with irregularities and “was a bazaar of some sorts and the coming government must extricate Nigeria from its numerous adverse consequences, adding that “shady deals involved in the importation of products and subsidy disbursements have still not been addressed and nothing has come out of the reports by the committees set up after the subsidy uprising by the masses.”
As regards crude oil lifting, Amao said that the allocation of cargos follows an opaque procedure known only to the highest levels of government (and in some cases their proxies).

 
“This practice must stop and the sale of crude should be made public (or by NNPC directly on the spot market) if 170 million Nigerians are to become true beneficiaries of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon wealth,” she said.
Amao maintained that “the Petroleum Minister was neither accountable to Nigerians nor the national assembly. Her failure to relate properly with the lower and upper house and the delay in the passage of the PIB led to a huge reduction in Foreign Direct Investment and delayed projects that could have had a positive impact on the Nigerian economy.
“With the exception of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s (NCDMB) strides that opened up opportunities for Nigerian business owners, the Oil and Gas industry suffered a lull in activities midstream and downstream activities because of the delayed passage of the PIB.

 
Mr. Sergius Ikemu, Managing Director/CEO, Grew Relentech Specialist, an oil and gas company, noted one of the issue that the last administration wasted so much efforts on is the PETROLEUM Industry Bill which went unresolved until the expiration of the administration. According to him, the new administration would need to consolidate on the gains of the Nigerian Local Content Acts passed and implemented by the past administrations. He urged the Buhari to prioritise the act to create more jobs within the sector.
“Also he should quickly look at the PIB and strip the bill of all the vested interest (local/international) that are not adding real value to the sector and ensure her passage through both houses. Once that is done, he must ensure that the bill is fully implemented,” he added.