Electricity Minister Adebayo Adelabu has described the power sector as an energy source needed for Nigeria's economic growth and industrial development.
Adelabu made the remarks during a visit to Abuja last weekend by a delegation led by Tasiu Sa 'ad Gidari-Wudil of the Society of Engineers of Nigeria (NSE).
Stressing the need to give proper attention and attention to the power sector, the minister said, "There is no economy in transition in the world that does not make electricity a priority."
"One of the major crises that Nigeria has experienced is not being able to produce what is consumed and therefore relying on the rest of the world as a consumption economy," he said. As a nation, we import a significant portion of what we consume, and any country looking to transform should avoid that."
While the National Electricity Authority is required to invest in the power sector to achieve its desired goals, Adelabu said one of the main challenges the country faces in moving forward stems from the inability to synergize.
"Nigeria needs an adequate supply of electricity and the challenge is not with any other agency except the Engineers Association of Nigeria," he said.
The minister said factors such as leadership, commitment, focus and passion have contributed to achieving the desired success in the power sector, while mobility, gaps in infrastructure, and inability to build roads and proper railways despite funding from development partners remain challenging.
The minister further said that the implementation of local content in government contracts has become imperative as part of Bora Tinubu's plan to promise to transform the lives of Nigerians.
As the protagonist of local content, local instrument manufacturers in Nigeria must be recognized to encourage development and sustainability.
He revealed that the consumer is the determining factor of revenue, so transmission and distribution capacity should be redundant as generating electricity and not reaching the consumer's doorstep is a futile effort.
Nigeria, a country of more than 220 million people with an electricity generation capacity of only 4,000 megawatts, requires full cooperation as there is renewed confidence in the new government's sustainable and adequate power supply.
"There has been a series of bilateral stakeholder consultations leading up to the planned town hall meeting of all stakeholders, in which NSE will be primarily involved," he explained.
Earlier, Gidari-Wudil said the association would provide all its expertise and operational Arsenal to help the ministry fulfil its mandate.
NSE enumerates the latest developments in society, noting that NSE's core mission is to contribute meaningfully to the development and advancement of technology through collaboration and connection.
"In an effort to expand the society's perspectives and horizons across international borders, to take advantage of important international resources, knowledge sharing and transfer, the NSE Council has approved the association's five international diaspora branches in Houston, London, Manchester, Glasgow and the eastern region of Saudi Arabia," he said. The incoming World Institution of Engineers is a senior member of the Nigerian Institution of Engineers."
Outlining some of the group's key expectations, he said, "Power is the cornerstone of manufacturing and for Nigeria to survive as a nation, it needs to support local manufacturers, otherwise Nigeria will continue to be a consumer nation."
He said part of the administration's mission is to make us more of a producer.