We Need Minister of Energy Not Power, Expert Reacts, As Saleh Assumes Office

Engineer Jonathan Ogbona, special adviser to the former minister of power Professor Chinedu Nebo, says the country needs a minister of Energy not a minister of power. While he is happy that the portfolio of the electricity industry has been separated from Works and housing, Ogbona that ministers of state for power, petroleum and mines should be appointed to work under the energy ministry.

“It is good that power is separated from works and housing,” the former general Manager of Egbin power plant said.

“If I am in a position to do it, what we should be having is a minister of energy. Then we can now have minister of state power under energy, minister of state petroleum, minister of state mines. Ogbona said all these officials are needed in the same room at any point in power development.

“They will not be acting like they are working for different organisations and that is what is happening now,” he added. President Muhammadu Buhari surprised a few on Wednesday, when he carved the ministry of power out of works and housing — a policy reverse from his last term and appointed a previously unknown Mamman Saleh as its head. Saleh a Doctor of Agricultural Extension Research and Sociology, with expertise in dairy technology, will have the services of junior minister, Godwin Jedy-Agba a former Group General Manager in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to call on.

While Ogbona does not have a hang of Saleh’s pedigree, being an outsider to the power sector, he like many Nigerians is interested in knowing how the new minister will solve the electricity distribution conundrum and ensure steady power supply to homes and businesses in Nigeria.

“When I was special adviser to Nebo, he will come into the ministry and say in a meeting ‘the target for generation is 6,000 megawatts.’ And, I will reply, ‘how are you going to achieve that?’ And the reply will always be, ‘are you doubting it?’” he said, insisting that the country was not thinking about power holistically. The now retired Nigeria Electricity Power Authority) NEPA) official, said there ‘is no planning in the power industry.’

“We do everything in the power industry and in Nigeria as if it is ad hoc.” However, he believes having a former NNPC official to call on could be beneficial to the performance of Dr. Saleh.