You can’t lift 100m out of poverty with epileptic power, Mbisiogu tells Buahri
More reactions have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari’s Democracy Day address on June 12, that he will lift about 100m Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
It was not clear if his pledge is coming from the recent trending revelation that Nigeria, with a new population estimate of 201m, is currently the poverty capital of the world after displacing India who had relied on technology to exit world number one poor nation.
In his response, the Chief Executive of Blue Diamond Logistics, China and Coordinator of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Guangzhou chapter, Mr. Festus Mbisiogu, made it clear that with the persistent instability in electricity, the presidential pledge remains unreachable.
Speaking at a recent press conference where he x-rayed Buhari’s pledge, he said lifting Nigerians out of poverty without stable power supply is not feasible.
On how best to achieve the feat, Mbisiogu called on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the power sector and if possible, double as Minister of Power and concentrate more on how to give Nigerian uninterrupted electricity.
According to him, “Buhari would march his words with action, adding that it is possible to create 100 million jobs in 10 years only if the Federal Government fixes power sector which he said will drive the economy and create the much needed employment”.
“Past ministers of power were overwhelmed by internal and external forces that are benefitting from the system having vowed to be a stumbling block on the way of the nation attainment of stable power supply.
Though lot experts had disagreed with Mbisiogu in Buhari doubling as Minister of Power considering the nation’s inability to fix all four refineries in his first term when he doubled as Minister of Petroleum, he insisted that “Power sector would require a no -nonsense person like President Buhari to be fixed, as only a courageous man with guts can confront the cabals who are bent at ensuring that steady power is not realized”.
