There is need for capacity building to harness the gains of the privatisation of power, a sector driven by technical know-how and skills.
Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, who made the point in Abuja, said training is the key to the acquisition of expertise as the country expects nothing less than stable power supply.
To him, trained manpower will facilitate the transformation of the sector, expressing the determination of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to provide legislation, institutional capacity, and political will to back up investors.
Wakil, who spoke while receiving a delegation from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), led by Barbara Barungi, said the government, having sold off power generation and distribution companies, will formulate policy and oversight functions.
He reiterated that Abuja is aware of the enormity of privatisation, especially as it was done in a single swoop, hence it has provided a safe net to absorb the shock through effective communication, data management, and information technology.
The government is poised to address the imbalance in energy mix to reduce dependence on the national grid, which is over-centralised and unable to provide the energy needs of rural communities.
It plans to position the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for better service delivery, and Wakil urged development partners and donor agencies to come on board.
Power Ministry Permanent Secretary, Godknows Igali, said success in the post-privatisation era depends solely on the ability of the power sector to get it right with capacity building.
He counselled that AfDB funds should be channelled to areas such as transmission expansion, Operation Light up Rural Nigeria, and most importantly, capacity building.
He said although Nigeria has accessed part of the facility granted by the bank, the balance cannot be accessed because of the stringent conditions. He pleaded with the AfDB to review some of the conditions.
Barungi described Nigeria’s power privatisation as “a global comprehensive power reform which the bank is proud to be associated with.
“Little wonder, since the handling of the power assets by private owners, there has been tremendous interest shown by investors from around the world.”
The interest of AfDB in developing working models using private public partnership (PPP) is very urgent, she stressed, and the bank will also support other initiatives in the sector.