The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has pledged to increase Nigeria’s electricity generation and distribution capacity from 4,000 megawatts to 10,000 megawatts within four years if elected president in 2027.
Obi made the pledge on Saturday while speaking at the party’s national convention in Abuja.
The former governor of Anambra State lamented the country’s poor electricity supply despite its population of over 200 million people, describing the current situation as unacceptable.
According to him, Nigeria currently has the highest number of people without access to electricity globally, with about 100 million citizens lacking power supply.
“It is totally unacceptable. Today, Nigeria is a country with the highest number of citizens without access to electricity in the whole world. About 100 million Nigerians don’t have access to electricity.
“In today’s world, it is unacceptable. A country of over 200 million people only generates and distributes 4,000 megawatts,” he said.
Obi noted that countries such as South Africa and Egypt generate more than 40,000 megawatts of electricity despite having populations that are less than half of Nigeria’s.
“The biggest economies in Africa, South Africa and Egypt, generate over 40,000 megawatts today.
“So we are not even producing 10 per cent of what these two African nations are producing and distributing. Both of them are less than 50 per cent of our population, and they generate 10 times the electricity we generate. These are African countries.
“It is unacceptable. It cannot happen. And I pledge on behalf of our government that in four years, this country will generate and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts from the 4,000 they are doing today,” Obi stated.
