Former Power Minister Prof. Chinedu Nebo has attributed the nation’s improved power supply to efforts of former President Goodluck Jonathan. He argued that it would be wrong for Nigerians to attribute the improvement in power supply to President Muhammadu Buhari’s body language and his anti-corruption stance. The former minister, who served as the pioneer vice chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) before he was appointed minister, said Jonathan did his best to transform the power sector, but was frustrated by saboteurs.
Nebo spoke in Ikole Ekiti on Saturday, where he was conferred with an honorary chieftaincy title of the Atayese of Egbeoba kingdom by the Elekole, Oba Ajibade Adewumi Fasiku. The traditional ruler also honoured the ex-minister’s wife, Felicia, with the title of Yeye Atayese of Egbeoba kingdom. They were honoured for their contributions to the establishment of the FUOYE’s Faculty of Engineering in Ikole town during Nebo’s tenure. Nebo said:
“Some said it was Buhari’s body language that brought the improvement, but I didn’t know what they meant. You can see that these saboteurs have stopped regular bursting of the gas pipes that powered the electricity since President Buhari came on board. Some people did not want Jonathan to succeed.
“Some of these people were doing this great disservice because they did not like President Jonathan. The regular supply is Jonathan’s labour. The present administration has not added any value to the sector and Nigerians must appreciate this.
“President Buhari will do wonders if he strengthens embedded generation and built more infrastructure for transmission of power. He should also change the threshold for licensing from one megawatt to five megawatts because the former has no incentive for investors and I believe Nigeria will leapfrog from 4,000 megawatts to something more appreciable, if this is done.”
On the perceived marginalisation of the Southeast from key appointments made so far, Nebo appealed to the people of the zone to be patient with the President. He noted that the lopsidedness would be corrected in the next appointments. The Elekole said the conferment of the titles on Nebo and his wife was in acknowledgement of their contributions to the university and the town’s development.