The recent visit of the minister of power Adebayo Adelabu to his home city, Ibadan has been generating several reactions from Nigerians.
While many see it as a clear political move to acquaint himself with the powers that be in the state ahead of 2027, others firmly hold the stand that there is a need for him to unwind and strategize ahead of the herculean tasks in front of him.
However judging from the overall reactions, the backlashes resulting from this situation appears to considerably outweigh those who hold a contrasting perspective. A substantial number of Nigerians believe that now is the crucial moment for him to embark on his responsibilities and swiftly transform the nation’s power sector.
Many even pointed to examples of his colleagues who wasted no time and swiftly began outlining their strategies for the next four years, shortly after their official inauguration into their respective ministries.
Going forward, the power minister needs to be conscious that this is literally not the time to begin to pull any political stunts as Nigerians are anxiously waiting to see what every appointed cabinet member is made of viz a viz the development of the country.
Over the years, the power sector in Nigeria has continuously faced persistent challenges, including inadequate generation capacity, transmission losses, distribution inefficiencies, and issues related to billing and revenue collection.
These challenges have resulted in frequent power outages, which have had significant economic and social impacts on the nation.
In light of this, it will be dismally shameful and unheard of to say that Nigeria which is known for distributing power to its neighbours cannot even boast of supplying stable power 24/7 for its citizens.
Nigerians, especially those who are keen followers of the Oyo Politics cannot pretend to be unaware of the political trajectory and ambition of the Hon. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu since 2019, which is why some Nigerians assume the visit, is an attempt to wet the ground ahead of his gubernatorial race in 2027
Candidly, no one is asking him not to put his house in order ahead of that time, but he must understand that the welfare and wellbeing of the people of Nigeria cannot be shortchanged for any political gains or ambition at this critical time.
Albeit, the minister while addressing newsmen at the airport during his arrival promised to fix the power sector within a period of six months emphasizing on the ongoing Zungeru hydro power project which is expected to provide additional 700 megawatts to the country’s grid, this shouldn’t just be mere words of the mouth, we need to see evidences as promised.
The global trend is shifting towards widespread adoption of renewable energy, and it’s imperative that the commitment he made during the interview to explore this avenue is also addressed.
Let me conclude by saying that Mr. Adelabu needs to learn from the proverbial hunter who decided to chase two rabbits at a time and ended up losing both of them. His excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has entrusted him with this responsibility with the hope that he’ll deliver wonderfully in the industry, he should consider it a chance to prove to the people of Oyo state that he can lead them right if given the opportunity to govern the state come 2027.
