By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
The Chartered Institute of Power Engineers of Nigeria (CIPEN) has said the Federal Government lacks the political will needed to address the longstanding challenges in the country’s electricity sector.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the President of CIPEN, Engr. Israel Abraham, said resolving the issues plaguing the sector requires bold and decisive action, including the declaration of a state of emergency.
He stressed that electricity is the lifeblood of any modern economy and must be treated as a national priority.
“As it stands right now, I’m not sure the government considers power a priority that it wants to solve immediately,” Abraham said. “If it did, we would have seen a state of emergency declared in the sector, and funds along with other critical resources would have been mobilized to address the crisis.”
He argued that the absence of political will has led to poor leadership choices in the sector, with appointments often based on convenience rather than competence.
“If there is political will, you won’t just appoint anybody to manage the sector. You would be deliberate in choosing someone who has the capacity to turn things around,” he added. “Just like in your family, when there’s a serious issue, you know exactly who to call to fix it.”
He said the institute, after two years of existence, is determined to ensure that only qualified and skilled engineers work in the power sector to ensure standard and quality of electricity supply across the country.
“As part of our mandate, we have stratified the practice into various license categories to deepen professionalism at every level. As such, we have introduced mandatory learning programmes that culminate in professional licenses for all power systems engineers and allied professional categories.
“These programmes aim to assess and validate the competence of professionals, infusing professional ethics and conduct, ensuring they meet the required standards for practice in Nigeria”, he added.
He stated that CIPEN would work to flush out quackery in the sector, stressing that non-compliance with the Act “such as vending and working on electrical and power engineering systems without the appropriate certification and licensing of the personnel and firm as the case may be, is a total contravention of the law of the federation”.
On his part, the Vice President, Power Business, Engr. Ahmed Kaitafi advocated for a cost reflective tariff but said the government must provide targeted subsidies for low income earners.
“When we talk about cost-effective tariff, it means a tariff that will allow the investor to recover his investment and also make the necessary profit as approved by the commission. But can everybody afford that kind of tariff, that kind of level of tariff? And that’s what we call targeted subsidy. There is no country that does not subsidize services”, he stated.
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