It was a mild drama at the National Assembly when light went off during the moment Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu was making a presentation in defense of the N344 billion budget for the ministry.
Reacting over the power interruption, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe, disclosed that what the minister said about the stable electricity in the country was implicative.
He said: “You see what just happened. This is what we all experience.
“We the Senators experience it too and I am sure even the President does experience it at the Villa, just that he cannot speak out like we are.”
After the restoration of power at the Senate hearing room 221, Adelabu said that the ministry will start operation at the Zungeru power plant this month.
He said: “We hope 300 megawatts will be generated.
“Nigeria must be taken out of energy poverty.
READ MORE: Accept Electricity Tariff Hike Or Live In Absolute Darkness — Adelabu To Nigerians
“When you transport power, you lose a percentage. The average is five percent but in Nigeria, we lose up to 40 percent of the power we generated because of poor infrastructures.
While explaining reason he did not capture the Mambilla power project in the 2024 budget, Adelabu said that it is under international arbitration adding that they can’t touch it.
He said: “The same reason why it was not captured in the old budget is the same reason it was not added in the 2024 budget.
“We need to invest so much in power transport infrastructure. When this power gets to the infrastructure, much of it gets lost because the majority of our houses are not metered.”
