Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has lamented the frequent collapse of the national grid, which has repeatedly plunged the nation into darkness.
News About Nigeria reports that the national grid collapsed yet again on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
It was further gathered that since January 2024, the grid has collapsed 10 times, including three instances within one week in October, each leading to widespread blackouts.
Reacting to the latest collapse, Obi, in a statement via his verified X handle on Wednesday, contrasted Nigeria’s ongoing struggles with power supply to South Africa’s recent milestone of seven months of uninterrupted electricity.
He highlighted that South Africa, despite being the second-largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, recently celebrated seven months of stable power supply and serves a quarter of Nigeria’s population.
Obi stressed the need for Nigerians to move beyond tribal and religious divisions and elect visionary leaders capable of driving national development.
He emphasized that no region or religious group benefits uniquely from the current challenges, as everyone suffers equally from the government’s failures.
He stated, “Again, yesterday, the now regular news came that the National Grid had collapsed once again. Just a few days ago, on October 25, South Africa, once the second-largest economy in Africa behind Nigeria, with a quarter of our population, celebrated seven months of uninterrupted power supply.
“South Africa generates and distributes about 40,000 MW of electricity, while Nigeria struggles to generate and distribute just 10% of that.
“Is there any tribe in Nigeria that enjoys uninterrupted power supply like South Africa? When I raise questions, I’m labelled a tribal bigot. When I ask if any religion enjoys special privileges in this crisis, I’m called a religious bigot. But I will continue to speak the truth about our situation today.
“The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure. The solution lies not in tribal or religious affiliations but in visionary leadership and a shared commitment to progress.
“We must set aside these outdated sentiments and elect leaders who are competent, capable, and have the vision to transform our nation from a consumer-driven economy to a productive one by investing our meagre resources in critical areas of development like health and education, lifting our people out of poverty, and ensuring increased electricity production and distribution.”
