Bola Tinubu, former Lagos governor seeking the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says if he becomes president, he will work towards ensuring uninterrupted power supply within four years in office.
Nigeria’s epileptic power supply has consistently generated concerns, with at least 200 grid collapse incidents recorded over the past 10 years.
In a statement issued on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, his media aide, the former governor said his administration will target an electricity distribution goal of 15,000 megawatts across the country.
“On electricity, I will embark on a renewed action-oriented focus and take immediate and urgent action on resolving existing challenges of power generation plants, gas purchasing, pricing, transmission, and distribution,” he was quoted as saying.
“My administration’s critical goal is to have 15,000 megawatts distributable to all categories of consumers nationwide to ensure 24/7 sustainable supply within the next four years.”
Aside from electricity, in the manifesto titled ‘My Vision for Nigeria’, Tinubu promised to build an economy that will make the nation’s Gross Development Product (GDP) grow quicker for the next four years.
He also promised to launch a new national industrial policy focused on special intervention to reinvigorate specific strategic industries.
“I will focus on stimulating jobs, which will be my top priority as president. I will get Nigeria to work by launching a major public works programme, a significant and heavy investment in infrastructure, and value-adding manufacturing and agriculture,” he said.
“My administration will build an efficient, fast-growing, and well-diversified emerging economy with a real GDP growth averaging 12% annually for the next four years, translating into millions of new jobs during this period.”
The former Lagos governor also said if elected president, he will create six new regional economic development agencies which will establish sub-regional industrial hubs to exploit each zone’s competitive advantage and optimise their potential for industrial growth.