PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has promised to decentralise power generation and distribution in Nigeria if elected president in 2023.

Mr Abubakar disclosed this in a statement on Thursday following the nationwide blackout caused by the electricity workers’ strike.

He expressed disappointment about the country’s poor power generation and distribution, stressing that “an industrial dispute with the FG in Abuja should not affect an industry in Lagos or a factory in Aba or in Kano or even an average Nigerian who just wants to get home, watch the news and sleep under a ceiling fan.”

“In this regard, my approach is to first remove the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list and give states the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity for themselves,” Mr Abubakar stressed.

The PDP presidential standard-bearer further stated that investments in additional generation capacity “are futile without consideration for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to wheel the additional energy.”

According to him, any investment in additional generation capacity should “be competitively procured” considering a viable mix of renewable (hydro, solar, wind and biofuels) and non-renewable (coal, gas) options for energy security.

The former vice president added, “Thirdly, ahead of procuring additional generation, both transmission and distribution capacities would be enhanced with government and private sector support for investments.”