By Salisu Sani-Idris
VICE President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated Ad Hoc Committees of the National Economic Council (NEC) on National Electrification and Polio Eradication.
Shettima, while inaugurating the committees on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said Nigeria could not dream of meaningful national economic development without addressing the power sector crisis.
He urged the country’s leaders to rise above their differences to confront the power sector crisis and become part of the reincarnation of Nigeria as an industrialised nation.
Shettima made reference to countries with challenges of energy insufficiency, such as Indonesia, India, South Africa and Uganda.
“One common thing with these countries and others in the post-industrial revolution community is that they have largely resolved the issue of energy insufficiency.
“There is no doubt that we cannot dream of meaningful national economic development without addressing the issue in the power sector and ensuring that Nigerians have accessible, available and affordable energy,” he stated.
He acknowledged the basic challenges in the nation’s power sector, especially the national grid which has been witnessing system collapse.
Shettima, however, expressed hope that there would be significant improvement following the recent reforms in the energy sector.
According to him, the reforms have opened the sector, “not only to the participation of, otherwise, excluded players, but also to attract investments, both foreign and local.
“I believe we are well endowed with resources, be it gas, hydro or solar, that allow us to have an optimal energy mix and leverage these resources to build a sector in a resilient manner that ensures energy security for every Nigerian.”
The Vice-President urged members of the National Electrification ad hoc committee to come on board and work for the nation.
Shettima also urged members of the ad hoc committee on polio eradication and stakeholders to reinvigorate efforts to confront the reemergence of the disease head-on.
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“If at all we have relied heavily on assistance from partners to address the devastation caused to our people by this disease, it is time to take a determined step to eradicate this disease.
“I am confident we can do it if we work collectively and collaboratively with partners and all the stakeholders,” he said.
The Vice-President discouraged short-term measures in tackling polio, urging the committee members to come up with long-term measures, including the local production of polio vaccines.
“We cannot fight this virus, Your Excellencies, by constantly responding to its recurrence, as short-term measures will always fail.
“We must develop a futuristic plan, and this calls for a long-term approach to containing the virus,” said Shettima.
He said the virus kept mutating and reemerging in new forms such as the new variant in Kano and Sokoto, but that it was heartening that these states had taken firm action to confront the new variants.
Responding, Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River state and Chairman, NEC ad hoc committee on national electrification, said the committee was charged with the responsibility to change the ugly history of incessant national grid collapse in the country.
“In the command list, one, is to put an end to consistent grid collapse in the energy sector and to work towards deepening states’ engagement within the Electricity Reform Act 2023.
“This is with a view to addressing the challenges in the power sector to the best expectation of Nigerians and the National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan.
“These tasks are tall but looking at the members of the committee, we are individually and collectively taller, especially in our avowed commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President and the golden ethos of nation-building,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Chairman of the Polio Eradication ad hoc committee, assured that the committee would do its best to end the reemergence of polio in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the members of the NEC ad hoc committee on National Electrification include Governors of Katsina, Gombe, Osun, Imo and Plateau States.
Others are: the minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Minister of Power and Special Adviser to the President on NEC/Climate Change.
The members of the Polio Eradication ad hoc committee are: Governors of Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Sokoto States and the Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
Others are: Executive Secretary, National Primary Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA); Director-General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum; representatives of UNICEF; Aliko Dangote Foundation among others. (NAN)
