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LCCI boss, Yusuf, seeks holistic approach to power sector challenges

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Director-General, of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf, has called for a holistic approach to the power sector challenges in Nigeria, as the nation marks the June 12 Democracy Day.

Speaking during an interview with newsmen in Lagos on Saturday, he maintained that the power sector reforms have not delivered the desired outcomes, noting that the entire experience has given privatisation a bad name.

He said: “There were issues of due diligence, technical capacity, financial capacity, political interference, metering issues, commercial losses, technical losses, tariff rigidities, and the economics of the private sector investment in the sector.

“There are diverse internal and external factors impeding the achievement of the desired outcomes of the power sector reform.

“Meanwhile, it is important to have a more holistic approach to the issue of power. There should be greater emphasis on off-grid solutions to ensure the decentralisation of the power sector.

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“The current model of high dependence on the national grid has not worked well to serve the economy. The country is too vast for the highly centralised regime of the national grid.”

He stressed the need to promote renewable energy solutions through the enactment of policies that will make them more affordable.

Yusuf noted that the current high cost of acquiring renewable energy equipment and accessories was also a major impediment to solutions to the challenges of the energy sector.

”I submit that import duty and taxes on solar equipment, solar batteries and inverters should be scrapped to improve access to renewable energy solutions.

“The implementation of the energy mix programme of the government needs to be accelerated,” Yusuf said.

Yusuf, however, commended the Federal Government’s deal with Siemens which aims to scale power supply capacity to 25,000 megawatts by 2025.

He said the move was a welcome development that would improve the performance of the power sector.

By Victor Uzoho…

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