Group Wants Buhari to Appoint Engineer NERC Chair

Ugo Aliogo
As part of efforts to ensure stable electricity in the country, a group known as Young Engineers Forum (YEF) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint seasoned professional Engineers as chairman and commissioners in the managerial board of the Nigerian Electricity Commission (NERC).

A statement jointly signed by the group Coordinator, Taiwo Adeolu, and Technical Secretary, Oladipo Agboola, stated that if professional engineers are appointed to the board of NERC, it will help reposition the sector.

The group said in the statement that due to the relevance of electricity to the nation, it is important that the right individuals with the needed experience were appointed as chairman and commissioners.

It explained that in aligning with the change mantra of the present administration, the sector needs to be repositioned in order to promote industrialisation, “Electricity is fundamental and inevitable to our daily living as its lights our environment, powers our homes, schools, hospitals, office, business and aid industrialisation.” The statement added:

“This   will   also   help   the   commission   design  policies and programmes in addressing issues in gas pricing and  accessibility, power generation through both off-grid and on-grid sources of power, electrical power transmission, equipment standardisation and safety. Thereby   reduce downtime and increase reliability of the Electricity value chain to develop without barriers.

“Electricity generation, transmission, distribution and marketing in Nigeria ws regulated by the Nigeria Electricity Commission (NERC) formed by an Act of the National Assembly under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 under the auspices of the Chairman/CEO and 6 other commissioners from the 6 Geo-political Zones of the country. NERC has over the years been managed of non-engineers which has caused a drift in achieving its core mandate of ensuring increased power generation and distribution.”