Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has appealed to Nigerians to bear with him as he is working towards addressing the power outages across the country.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, March 11, Adelabu said the last three weeks had been difficult for the country and the sector with Nigerians contending with frequent power cuts.

While calling on Nigerians to exercise patience as the ministry is tackling the power crises from its root cause, he said the government is targeting to increase power generation to 6500 MegaWatts (MW) from the current 4500 (MW).

“We are doing everything possible to make sure the situation reverses in no time. There is a crisis and the crises must be arrested. What we asked from Nigerians is to exercise a little patience to retain their trust and confidence in us that we can do this. Very soon, you will start singing our praises. When they accuse us now, when there is no power, it is very understandable because their complaints are legitimate.”

The minister lamented the poor performance exhibited by electricity distribution companies, promising that sanctions would be meted out to underperforming DisCos.

He disclosed that the ministry is making plans to balkanise the coverage area of some of the DisCos to enable communities not served to be taken over by other companies.