The federal government has apologised to Nigerians for the recent drop in power supply and power failure in Nigeria. In a statement issued in Abuja by Segun Adeyemi, special adviser to the Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, the Federal government blamed gas pipeline vandalism and sabotage on the poor power situation.
“The vandalisation of the Forcados export pipelines forced oil companies to shut down, making it impossible for them to produce gas.The statement adds that the power situation will improve this week.
Then, workers at the Ikeja DISCOS, who were protesting the disengagement of some of their colleagues after they failed the company’s competency test, apparently colluded with the National Transmission Station in Osogbo to shut down transmission. Finally, the unfortunate strike by the unions at the NNPC, over the restructuring of the corporation, shut down the Itarogun power station, the biggest in the country. Due to these factors, only 13 out of the 24 power stations in the country are currently functioning. It is this same kind of unsavoury situation that has affected fuel supply and subjected Nigerians to untold hardship. The bitter truth is that for as long as these groups of Nigerians continue to sabotage the power infrastructure, Nigerians cannot enjoy a decent level of power supply. We therefore admonish all Nigerians who may be agitating for their rights in whatever form to refrain from any action that will further hurt the same people they claim to be protecting,” he said.
"There will be a decent improvement in the power situation from this weekend, thanks to ongoing remedial efforts that will double the current power supply to 4,000WM. Getting back to the 5,074MW all-time high that was reached earlier will take a few more weeks".