On Tuesday, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, condemned the latest national grid collapse, which happened on Monday evening, leading to power outages in parts of the country, News About Nigeria reports.
In a statement on his official X account, the former Anambra State governor noted that the recurrent national grid collapse is a clear show of poor leadership in the country.
He further noted that it is a shame that Nigerians have come to accept this as their leaders have refused to find lasting solutions to this challenge.
Obi’s statement partly reads, “For the umpteenth time, the national grid has collapsed, plunging a huge part of the nation into darkness and exposing the fragility of Nigeria’s power infrastructure. This recurring disaster is a national shame and a glaring testament to the failure of leadership and policy implementation at the highest levels. How long must Nigerians endure a system that fails to provide one of the critical necessities for a productive society? This latest power grid collapse is emblematic of a leadership and government that have consistently failed to prioritize the welfare and economic well-being of the people.
“We all know the immense importance of power supply to the transformation of our economy. Its support to SMEs, which are the engine of job creation and a major contributor to our GDP, is immeasurable. Today, we are the fourth largest economy in Africa, having fallen from the number one position due to leadership failure over the years, including the persistent power crisis, which is critical when compared to smaller economies. South Africa, which is now the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of about $400 billion and 30% of our population, generates and distributes over 40,000 megawatts of electricity.”
He called on the President Bola Tinubu-led government to prioritise the welfare of the people noting that it is time for urgent, comprehensive reform.
