From John Ofikhenua, Abuja
Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, has attributed the recent shake-up in the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to non-performance of their Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).
In a statement on Monday in Abuja by his Special Adviser (SA), Media and Communications, Mr. Aaron Artimas, the minister said there was no proportionate power supply for the huge amount of money the Federal Government had spent in the power sector.
He urged the citizenry to note that the recent removal of the REA Managing Director, Damilola Ogunbiyi, and the suspension of NBET Managing Director, Dr. Marilyne Amobi, was merely to sanitise the power sector.
Mamman debunked the claim of some analysts and pressure groups that had predicated the action of the minister on ethnicity and other sentiments.
Read Also: ‘Effective metering key to power sector growth’
He said: “All right-thinking Nigerians are aware that since assuming power in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari has poured billions of naira and attracted huge foreign investments into the power sector with the aim of improving the generation and distribution of electricity to Nigerians.
“Nigerians should be asking why there was not much improvement in the sector after such concerted efforts by the government and not to encourage ‘wailers’ to sulk over public officers who had been in the ministry for over four years without tangible results.”
“At this level of national development, we should be thinking of performance instead of promoting trivial or extraneous sentiments on the pretext of criticising government actions. Many Nigerians are not unaware of the squabbling and unfortunate infighting affecting the two agencies as well as other alleged infractions.
“This obviously affected their performance in impacting the entire industry. No responsible leadership will tolerate such chaotic situation and expect success on the ultimate goal of improving power in the country.”
According to him, most Nigerians are not susceptible to relinquishing public office, even after exhausting their welcome or in the face of apparent failure to perform.
The removal of any public officer, Mamman said, is usually accompanied by high dramas, including allegations of victimisation, discrimination and bias.
Leave a Reply