The Senate President, David Mark is obviously angry with the poor power supply in the country despite the promises made during the privatisation of the sector.
David Mark, who spoke in Abuja today when he received the management of the Electricity Management Services Limited regretted: “in spite of the high expectations and promises on account of the privatisation of the power sector, Nigerians are yet to feel the positive impact of the sector.”
He charged the operators of the industry to give meaning to the privatisation by making the sector work so that citizens could enjoy uninterrupted power supply, saying that the snail speed of development in the sector does not give credence to the privatisation exercise and the expectations of Nigerians.
The Senate President challenged the industry operators to get rid of quacks in the profession in order to give consumers quality services even as he asked them to embark on manufacturing of electrical tools instead of relying totally on importation which should only be used to compliment.
Earlier, the managing Director of EMLS, Peter Ewesor, explained that the mandate of the agency includes but not limited to ensuring that electrical equipment used in the energy supply industry are of the right quality, standards and specifications, adding that the agency ensures the safety of lives and property within the grid and off grid networks.
The EMSL is one of the players in the electricity supply industry established in accordance with the provisions of part 1 section 8 of the power sector reform act 2005 and the supplementary regulations number 46/47 (B499-452 ) of the federal government official Gazette no 374 of 2010.
Only yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali, had said that the nation’s power output had dropped from 4,500MW to 2,800MW, blaming it on “vandalism of gas pipelines.” [myad]
