It appears that we are still in the season of government promises, as Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured consumers of improved electricity supply in the next six months.

Development Diaries reports that the minister said the ongoing power upgrade and investment in the power sector would improve electricity supply within the next three to six months.

Recall that Adelabu, on his assumption of office, promised that every home, industry, school, and business would enjoy an improved power supply.

However, seven months down the line, the power situation in the country has taken a turn for the worse.

Adelabu has vowed to change his master plan from a top-to-bottom approach to a bottom-to-top approach, but how long will Nigerians have to wait to get stability in power supply?

The country has been thrown into darkness at different times this year, and many states are experiencing a drastic drop in power supply compared to before.

Apart from the collapse of the power grid earlier in the year, which has become the norm, there have been pointers to infrastructure challenges and vandalism of power infrastructure.

Nigerians, rich and poor alike, are suffering in different ways as the situation continues to deteriorate. Interestingly, as an additional perspective on the crisis’ effects, women in Rivers State recently staged protests, claiming that the power cuts were having a detrimental effect on their marriages.

Urgent reforms are crucially needed to address the persistent challenges plaguing the country’s electricity supply.

One of the primary reforms should focus on enhancing the efficiency and transparency of power generation, transmission, and distribution processes.

This includes upgrading outdated infrastructure, implementing advanced metering systems to curb losses due to theft and technical inefficiencies, and deploying smart grid technologies for better monitoring and management of the power grid.

Additionally, measures to address issues of corruption and mismanagement within the sector, such as improving governance structures and enforcing accountability mechanisms, are essential to achieving sustainable progress and ensuring reliable electricity access for all Nigerians.

Development Diaries calls on the minister to ensure he focuses on efficient reforms to bring about meaningful and lasting changes in Nigeria’s power sector.

Photo source: TCN