Vice President Kashim Shettima has insisted that it is impossible to have a meaningful national economic development without a steady power supply in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) Ad Hoc Committee on National Electrification and NEC Ad Hoc Committee on Polio Eradication at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, Shettima appealed to all stakeholders to collaborate with the government to help solve the crisis in the power sector.
He said, “One common thing with these countries and others in the post-industrial revolution community is that they have largely resolved the issue of energy insufficiency.
“There is no doubt that we cannot dream of meaningful national economic development without addressing the issue in the power sector and ensuring that Nigerians have accessible, available and affordable energy.
“I believe we are well endowed with resources, be it gas, hydro or solar, that allows us to have an optimal energy mix and leverage these resources to build a sector in a resilient manner that ensures energy security for every Nigerian.”
He also encouraged members of the National Electrification ad hoc committee to come up with a futuristic plan to combat the virus.
He added, “I wish you the best as you embark on this critical assignment, and I want to assure you of my availability as you discharge this onerous assignment. With this, I hereby inaugurate the NEC ad hoc committee on National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan.
“If at all we have relied heavily on assistance from partners to address the devastation caused to our people by this disease, it is time to take a determined step to eradicate this disease from our people. I am confident we can do it if we work collectively and collaboratively with partners and all the stakeholders.
“We cannot fight this virus, Your Excellencies, by constantly responding to its recurrence, as short-term measures will always fail. We must develop a futuristic plan, and this calls for a long-term approach to containing the virus.
“It is in this regard that we must take seriously the overarching need for the local production of polio vaccines. This, I believe, will ensure that we take a long-term view of the containment of the virus and ultimately its extermination in the future.
“It is clear that we should never rest on our oars, as the virus keeps mutating and reemerging in new forms such as the new variant in Kano and Sokoto, but it is heartening that these states have taken firm action to confront the new variant.”
