Vice President Kashim Shettima has reiterated the determination of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to reform and strengthen the nation’s power sector.
Mr Shettima spoke on Thursday in Abuja during the inauguration of the new head office of the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO).
“This administration remains resolute in its commitment to reform and strengthen the power sector,” Mr Shettima said.
The vice president noted that while the promise of every nation rested on its abundance, Nigeria could not afford to gamble with energy security.
Commending the management and staff of NELMCO for their dedication, he said the inauguration of the edifice symbolised a new phase of modernisation, efficiency, and forward-thinking leadership.
“Yours is a task that often goes unnoticed, yet it is foundational to everything we seek to achieve in this sector. You are, in many ways, the custodians of the sector’s credibility,” he stated.
Mr Shettima said the electricity firm represented the nation’s commitment to confronting “the burdens of yesterday so that they do not mortgage the possibilities of tomorrow.”
He said Mr Tinubu’s administration understood that energy security was the ultimate foundation upon which national progress must stand.
According to Shettima, Nigeria is counting on NELMCO’s aspiration to restore a measure of confidence within the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
He maintained that this aligned with the broader agenda of Mr Tinubu, which is the commitment to reposition the energy sector as a commercially viable and investment-ready space.
“Whatever we do in investing in the capacity to solve problems that are often invisible but always consequential cannot reasonably be said to be enough unless we provide a lasting solution to these legacy challenges,” Mr Shettima added.
He called on partners in the private sector and the international community to invest in Nigeria’s power sector, reaffirming that the nation remained open for business.
“We are committed to creating a transparent, predictable, and investor-friendly environment,” he further stated.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said Mr Tinubu remained focused on transforming the power sector.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the new edifice was a clear demonstration of the federal government’s efforts to strengthen power sector liquidity.
He stressed that the decentralisation and liberalisation of the power sector were anchored on the Electricity Act signed into law by Mr Tinubu.
According to him, the act is a landmark legislation that now allows the 36 states to actively participate in providing electricity to Nigerians.
The managing director of NELMCO, Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas, said NELMCO now serves as a clearing house for legacy debt.
She disclosed that the agency had moved beyond debt settlement and had generated revenue in excess of N30 billion for the federal government.
(NAN)
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