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Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has strongly denounced the recent collapse of Nigeria’s national power grid, labeling it a national embarrassment that highlights the country’s infrastructure vulnerabilities. The grid’s twice-in-one-day collapse has left millions in the dark, exacerbating the nation’s energy crisis.
The Monday evening power outage, which struck at 6:18 pm, severely disrupted daily life across Nigeria. Families were left without lights, and economic activities were halted, underscoring the grid’s critical role in supporting the nation’s basic needs.
The Labour Party presidential candidate’s ire was sparked by the grid’s double collapse in just one day, underscoring the deep-seated problems plaguing Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
On Tuesday, electricity distribution companies across Nigeria reported the national power grid’s second catastrophic failure in a single day, plunging the country into darkness and reinforcing concerns about the grid’s reliability and resilience.
Reacting to the development, Obi in a statement on Tuesday via X, highlighted the incidence as evidence of the failures in leadership and policy implementation at the highest levels.
He said; “For the umpteenth time, the national grid has collapsed, plunging a huge part of the nation into darkness and exposing the fragility of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
“This recurring disaster is a national shame and a glaring testament to the failure of leadership and policy implementation at the highest levels.
“How long must Nigerians endure a system that fails to provide one of the critical necessities for a productive society? This latest power grid collapse is emblematic of a leadership and government that have consistently failed to prioritize the welfare and economic well-being of the people.
“We all know the immense importance of power supply to the transformation of our economy. Its support to SMEs, which are the engine of job creation and a major contributor to our GDP, is immeasurable.
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“Today, we are the fourth largest economy in Africa, having fallen from the number one position due to leadership failure over the years, including the persistent power crisis, which is critical when compared to smaller economies.
“South Africa, which is now the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of about $400 billion and 30% of our population, generates and distributes over 40,000 megawatts of electricity.
“Secondly, Egypt, the second largest economy with a GDP of about $350 billion and half of our population, generates and distributes over 40,000 megawatts.
“Algeria, the third largest economy, with about 300B GDP and 20% of our population, generates and distributes over 50,000 megawatts of electricity.
“Nigeria, with less GDP but with more population than the 3 countries combined, generates and distributes less than 10,000 megawatts, and even that is riddled with frequent collapses and crises of failure.
“This disparity in power generation is a reflection of the deep-rooted governance deficit that continues to hold back our growth and potential.”
He then called for an urgent, comprehensive reform of the powers sector.
