It’s Impossible To Provide 24-hour Electricity In Four Years, Says Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has ruled out promising Nigerians uninterrupted electricity within a single four-year term, describing such a pledge as unrealistic due to the time required to expand the country's power infrastructure.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, Obi said although improving electricity supply would be a major priority if elected president, it would be impossible to guarantee nationwide 24-hour power within four years.

“I will not tell them I'm going to give them reliable, stable, 24-hour electricity within four years,” Obi said.

“It is impossible because if you want to build a power plant, it will take you about four years to build a power plant. If you want to build and improve our transmission line, it will take you a number of years.’’

Rather than making what he described as unrealistic promises, the former Anambra State governor said his administration would focus on strengthening electricity generation, transmission and distribution to deliver a more reliable power supply across the country.

Obi said Nigeria's immediate challenge was not the inability to generate electricity but the weak transmission and distribution network preventing available power from reaching consumers.

According to him, his government would ensure the country consistently generates, transmits and distributes at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity.

"We will be able to generate more than 10,000 megawatts. We are doing that today—we are generating more than 10,000—but we are not able to transmit that," he said.

"I said we will be able to generate more than 10,000, transmit and distribute that."

The NDC presidential candidate also pledged to expand embedded power projects across the country, saying successful decentralised electricity models should be replicated to boost industrial productivity.

He pointed to the operations of Geometric Power in Aba as a model that could be extended to major industrial centres such as Kano's Bompai and Sharada industrial clusters.

"We will do it through embedded power. Look at what Geometric Power is doing in Aba—we need to replicate that in locations like Kano to drive the industries in Bompai and Sharada," Obi stated.

He further argued that attracting investment into the electricity sector would require the government to clear outstanding debts owed to electricity generation companies, which he said currently run into trillions of naira.

"Today, the government owes generating companies trillions of naira. We must pay them," he said.

Obi added that his administration would embrace transparent governance by setting achievable targets and openly explaining any challenges encountered in implementing its policies.

"Our politics must change; if I don't deliver what I promise, I will come out and explain to the people what is going wrong," he said.