About 62 percent of Nigerians don’t have access to electricity, former Director General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo, has said.
Sambo disclosed this while speaking on “Harnessing Local Renewable Energy Sources: A panacea For Tackling Global Energy Crises in the 21st Century,” at the 3rd Public Lecture Series of the Sokoto State University, Sokoto.
He said no one suffers the impact of poor electricity more than the entrepreneurs as operating businesses on generating sets is capital extensive.
He blamed policy inconsistency for the country’s poor electricity supply. He said, “You know, in this country, there is no sustainability of policy, whenever a new government comes into power, it will abandon previous policies by its predecessor, either good or bad and this does not augur well for us.”
Sambo, who was Vice Chancellor, Kaduna State Univeristy, said Nigeria is endowed with resources that could generate sufficient electricity for its populace.
He advocated for the generation of electricity via solar and other renewable sources, where Nigeria has a comparative advantage, stressing that “it is high time we explore our abundant solar energy to generate electricity as done by other developing and developed countries of the world.”
He urged relevant stakeholders in the energy sector to look into alternative energy at the local, state and federal levels and at the same time, encourage research activities, based on Nigeria local resources and challenges.
The energy expert, who is the Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Environmental Design, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said if researchers do not rise to the challenges, Nigeria would remain a mere consumer or recipient of energy from foreign countries.
