Remark by the president of the senate on the occasion of the public hearing organised by the Senate AD HOC committee on power today , wednesday the 11th of November 2015
Protocol:
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on this special occasion of the public hearing on
the power sector of our economy.
The issue of the adequacy or otherwise of power is at the very heart of our development challenge. You don’t have to be an economist to observe that if we do not improve on the availability and accessibility of adequate power to drive the economy, our developmental aspirations will continue to emaciate.
It is in recognition of this pivotal role which the power sector plays in aiding development that the present Senate has decided to place
enormous emphasis on the improvement of the sector especially on the efficiency and reliability of the national grid.
As noted in the motion moved by the Leader of Senate; the precursor of this investigation, there is a cleavage between the public investment that has been made in the power sector and the returns Nigerians have
enjoyed from the sector between 1999-2014.
The essence of this investigation is to see how best to revitalize the sector to make it more efficiency and transparency driven.
It is hard to put in words the level of frustration Nigerians have had to face with power, the impact of this on the wider economy and the
level of inefficiency in the entire energy value chain.
We have an opportunity now to right the wrongs of the past. It starts from our
doing a thorough job of this assignment.
It is my belief that the committee’ work and final recommendation will be invaluable tool towards providing the sector the right remedy we need to move it forward. Our goal here is not to witch-hunt, no! It is essentially a diagnostic review with the aim of repositioning the power sector to perform its role as a major primer of development.
This administration has made the delivery of power and the revamping of the economy some of its cardinal objectives. If we could pause to imagine for one moment what the effect of a vibrant power sector driven by efficiency and innovation, would mean to the Nigeria textile industry, rice mills, the manufacturing startups, assembly plants,
manufacturing, agribusiness development in general, aviation, communication, cost of doing business, insecurity, service delivery, technology adoption, life expectancy of Nigerians both in the rural and urban areas, SMEs and unemployment etc.
The implications and ramifications are immense indeed they are enormous. Therefore, we cannot afford to fail, Nigerians will not afford half measures.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen it is for this reason and in keeping with our tradition of openness that we invited you to offer us
your perspectives and opinion as well as your professional inclination on how best we can get the power sector right.
I wish the committee a very successful hearing and now declare the public hearing open.
God bless Nigeria!
Sen. (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE