ADC government will deliver stable, affordable electricity – Atiku

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has promised that an ADC-led government would provide stable and affordable electricity by pursuing a diversified and decentralised power generation strategy.

Atiku made the pledge in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to the former Vice President, Nigeria’s electricity challenges can only be solved by moving away from overdependence on large, centralised power plants and embracing multiple energy sources.

He said an ADC administration under his leadership would prioritise electricity generation from hydro, gas, solar and other viable energy sources while expanding transmission infrastructure, improving distribution networks and encouraging private sector investment.

“An ADC administration under my leadership will pursue a diversified and decentralised electricity generation strategy driven by hydro, gas, solar and other viable energy sources, while expanding transmission infrastructure, strengthening distribution networks and encouraging private sector participation to guarantee stable and affordable electricity across the country,” he said.

Atiku also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying it took nearly three years to embrace a policy direction he had advocated for more than two decades.

“It should not take a government three years in office to discover what was obvious more than two decades ago,” he said.

He argued that the government increased electricity tariffs before fixing the problems in the power sector.

“A government that thinks before it acts would have fixed the system before asking citizens to pay more. Unfortunately, this administration has done the exact opposite, raising tariffs first and only now beginning to think about the reforms required to justify those increases,” Atiku added.

The former Vice President recalled that, while serving under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he opposed plans to rely mainly on gas-fired electricity generation.

Atiku said he had maintained the same position for more than two decades, insisting that Nigeria’s electricity future depends on a diversified and decentralised energy mix rather than relying heavily on a single source of power.

He further lamented that, despite billions of dollars invested in the power sector over the years, the expected results had not been achieved because of poor implementation.

He maintained that Nigeria has never lacked good ideas but has suffered from poor leadership.

He said Nigeria’s problem is not a lack of good ideas but the absence of leaders who are willing to implement the right policies at the appropriate time.

“It is never too late to embrace the right policy, but Nigerians should never have had to pay the price for a government that spent three years learning what should have guided its actions from day one,” he said.