Blackouts: Sanwo-Olu tasks stakeholders to end power sector failures

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By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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LAGOS — Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has challenged stakeholders in the power sector to end the recurring blackouts in the country and abandon excuses that, according to him, are hindering efforts to build a resilient economy.

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Sanwo-Olu spoke on Thursday during a high-level strategic town hall meeting on ending the culture of blackouts and building a sustainable 24-hour power economy in Lagos State, held at the State House, Marina.

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The governor, who was accompanied by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, demanded what he described as unfiltered truth from stakeholders on the challenges confronting the power sector.

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The meeting brought together key public and private sector stakeholders to develop concrete action plans for achieving reliable 24-hour electricity supply in Lagos.

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Among those represented at the meeting were the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC) and the Independent System Operator.

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Some members of the Lagos State Executive Council also attended the meeting.

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Opening the proceedings, the moderator and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, said addressing the persistent power deficit was critical to unlocking sustained economic growth and building a resilient electricity market in Lagos.

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Sanwo-Olu, in a frank address, urged stakeholders to set aside corporate interests, abandon excuses and confront the challenges undermining the development of the power sector.

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The governor acknowledged growing frustration in both the public and private sectors over repeated meetings and discussions that had produced limited practical results.

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He noted that the recent decentralisation and regulatory unbundling of Nigeria’s electricity sector had empowered states to develop and manage independent power systems, stressing that state governments could no longer blame centralised federal control for poor electricity supply.

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“We, state governments, we used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.

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He said despite the establishment of institutions such as LASERC, electricity supply challenges remained severe.

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“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.

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The governor consequently called for an open and “gloves-off” engagement to identify systemic weaknesses, government shortcomings and performance gaps within the private sector.

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He said the objective of the meeting was to move beyond discussions and develop a practical and actionable roadmap for delivering dependable electricity to residents and businesses in Lagos.

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Following the opening session, journalists were asked to leave the venue as stakeholders commenced a closed-door interactive session, which lasted several hours.

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