Babatunde Raji Fashola, the minister of power, housing, and works, has explained that it is not right to hold the federal government accountable for unstable power supply. He mentioned that the previous administrations have privatized all the bodies that control power in the country. He then admitted that he can only regulate policies in his position as the minister for power.
Fashola made the revelations when he was addressing the audience at the Nextier Power Dialogue event on Wednesday, in Abuja.
Fashola’s Position
He explained, “There are problems without a doubt and we must deal with them. But let me remind you, all of the assets that the Ministry of Power used to control for power have been sold by the last administration before I came. And so if you don’t have power, it is not the government’s problem. Let us be honest.
He continued, “the people who are operating the power sector, generation and distribution are now privately owned companies. I am here because I am concerned. If your telephone is not working, it is not the minister of communication that you go to. Let us be very clear.”
As he progressed with his speech, Babatunde Fashola emphasized that Nigerians need to ask questions from power companies that are now in charge of the power sector. He maintained that what he does is mostly overseeing the sector based on some certain regulations.
He stressed, “so for those of you who want to weaponize electricity, face the businessmen who have taken it up. Let us be honest. If your bank over-charges your interest, is it the minister of finance you go to? So let’s be clear. This is now a private business by an act of parliament 2005. My role is regulatory, oversight and policy, but I have a problem which is the fact that I can’t see a problem and turn my back, so I’m getting involved. So the people you should be talking to about transformers is not me, the ministry doesn’t supply transformers anymore.”
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