President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the sabotage and theft of gas were undermining the efforts of the government to increase power supply in the country.
To tackle the problem, the President announced that existing Military Task-Forces will be reorganized to ensure a successful protection of the network of gas pipelines.
The President, who said this Tuesday in a question-and-answer interaction with the Nigerian community in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, noted that “although some improvement in power had been recorded in the recent period,” sabotage of pipeline installations continued to be a problem.
He told his audience that Nigeria had everything it takes to generate enough power.
“Power is a running battle because the saboteurs are still there. We have the potential. We have gas, we have qualified people but we are contending with a lot of saboteurs who go and blow up installations. When gas is pumped to Egbin and such other power stations, thieves and saboteurs such as the militants cut those supplies,” President Buhari said.
He also cited another factor as the reduced role of the government in the sector due to the privatization of the institutions under the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, in the process of which, he said, the facilities “have been sold to a number of interest groups.”
He assured that the Military Task-Forces with representation from the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Police and other security agencies will be reconstituted to secure the pipelines. “Supplies will become steady; there will be less sabotage as we secure the pipelines,” he stressed.
President Buhari also updated the Nigerians in Tehran on the efforts of his administration towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in the country, explaining that a lot had been achieved following the reorganization of the military top command, followed by …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
