Nigeria: Elections Amid Energy Crisis

All told, the worsening state of electricity for domestic and industrial consumption and the not quite stable fuel supply should be an issue in this election. In fact, the crippling energy crisis ought to be factor for which the elections would be won or lost. It should be an issue on which the electorate may decide to punish the party in power for failing in eight years to prevent this crisis. The way an opposition party articulates the policy to solve the problem may also decide if the electorate could entrust power its hands.

What is undeniable is that there is power outage in towns, villages and in factories. The crisis of distribution of petroleum products is also a symptom of a sick economy.
My colleague, Ijeoma Nwogwugwu sharply captured the situation in her very insightful serialisation on the energy crisis last month when she wrote inter alia : “Some critics may perceive my assessment of the current situation as being too pessimistic. The government, they could posit, has promised to deliver 10,000MW of electricity by the end of the year. It has also pledged to offset petroleum product subsidies monthly to forestall a boycott of product importation by oil marketers who import fuel at international prices, but resell it locally at the government-controlled price of N65.00 a litre. My response to those eternal optimists is that they should not hold their breath.

Nigeria today is possibly facing the worst energy crisis ever to befall this nation. But before delving into how we got here in the first place, a brief rundown of the current situation in the energy sector is necessary”

The elements of the crisis were also well articulated : the nation still imports fuel after six years of the policy of deregulation of the downstream of the petroleum sector; the once fanciful policy of deregulation has not spurred the building of private of private refineries which was trumpeted to be the cornerstone of the policy; unrest in the unjustly treated Niger Delta region has hampered the construction of power stations as well as gas distribution. There are other indications of the crisis, which experts have articulated in several fora and in the work of legion of committees and task forces over the years.

AllAfrica