Yar’Adua apologises to Nigerians over energy crisis

Clement Idoko, Abuja - 19.02.2008

President Umaru Yar’Adua on Monday apologised to Nigerians over what he described as embarrassing power failure in the country. Yar’Adua made the public apology on Monday in Abuja at the 20th anniversary of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) while restating the determination of his administration to address the problem.

The president, who was represented at the occasion by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, said “the power failure is a problem we have and we must solve it, not only in Abuja, but elsewhere in the country.”

Yar’Adua had on assumption of office, vowed to declare a state of emergency in the power sector considering the heavy toll the epileptic nature of the electricity generation in the country had taken on the nation’s economy.

Speaking on the anniversary, the president commended the FRSC, which he said, rose from its humble background to become a powerful international agency in road administration due to hard work.

He enjoined it to use the international conference that followed the anniversary with the theme “Road Safety In Nigeria: Vision 2020” to address the missing link in road administration in Nigeria and Africa at large.