Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has reminded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of his campaign promise to deliver constant electricity within four years.
In a statement on Tuesday, Obi recalled Tinubu’s remarks made on December 22, 2022, where he declared: “If I don’t give you constant electricity in the next four years, don’t vote for me for second term.”
Obi lamented that despite repeated assurances, the current administration has presided over more national grid collapses and power outages than any other in Nigeria’s history, with blackouts becoming routine even after billions of dollars have been poured into the power sector.
He warned that Nigerians will not forget that pledge.
“Nigeria has spent more on power generation with little or no increase in supply than countries like Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia, and Bangladesh,” Obi said.
He noted that while those nations have doubled their electricity generation to drive growth, Nigeria has barely moved from 4,500MW to 5,000MW over the years.
The former Anambra State governor stressed that Nigeria, with a GDP of about $200 billion, has the capacity to significantly expand its economy if electricity supply is prioritised.
He argued that raising generation to at least 10,000MW could boost GDP by 50 percent, spur industrial growth, create millions of jobs, and lift the nation out of economic decline.
Instead, Obi criticised the government’s focus on projects such as coastal highways, which he said would contribute little to economic revival compared to adequate power supply.
“Factories are shutting down, jobs are disappearing, businesses are collapsing, and ordinary Nigerians are left in darkness,” he stated.
Obi urged President Tinubu to urgently redirect attention towards generating and distributing more electricity to power businesses, especially small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), which he described as the backbone of job creation and economic growth.
