Nigerians to pay more for electricity - Lukman

By Our Reporter - 10.02.2008

Former OPEC President,Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, has said that Nigerians may have to pay more for electricity if the current energy reform is to bear meaningful results. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Lukeman made this known while speaking at a convocation lecture of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, on Saturday.

In the lecture titled: “Confronting Nigeria’s Energy Challenge: The imperative of immediate reforms’’, Lukman said that the crisis in the power sector in Nigeria accumulated over two decades. “It is not realistic therefore to expect this crisis to be solved overnight. “In addition, we need to acknowledge that the power supply problem is a moving target, there can not be a once and for all solution”, he said.

The honorary Strategic Adviser to the President on energy said that South Africa, which had surplus power capacity a few years ago, now experiences problem.

“Countries must therefore continuously strive to upgrade capacity, improve infrastructure and boost investments in the sector’’, Lukman stressed. The former OPEC chief noted that Nigeria’s power crisis could not be resolved by government alone, adding that the private sector must be encouraged to invest heavily on electricity supply in the country.