Follow Us on Google
Paul Ibe, media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, over his claim that some Nigerians asked him to slow down improvement in electricity supply because their freezers are now freezing too much.
Tegbe made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at the commissioning of the 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja.
The minister said some consumers told him to slow down because areas that previously had no electricity for three months are now enjoying up to 18 hours of supply daily.
“Places that didn’t have light at all for three months are now having 18 hours light. Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing. That is what freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen,” Tegbe said.
But reacting in a Facebook post on Thursday, Ibe said the comment shows the Tinubu administration is disconnected from the reality of Nigerians battling high energy costs.
He said, “Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, says Nigerians are calling him and asking him to ‘slow down’ because their freezers are now freezing too much. For real?
Other News
“Apparently, the Tinubu government hears voices the rest of Nigeria cannot hear. It hears Nigerians complaining about too much electricity, while official NERC data showed that in April only about 4,286MW was available for dispatch from 13,625MW of installed grid-connected capacity.”
He emphasised that while the minister celebrates frozen food, diesel has crossed N2,000 per litre in parts of the country, electricity bills are consuming household incomes and energy costs are eating into small business margins.
“It hears freezers freezing. Nigerians hear generators roaring. It hears an electricity revolution. Families see electricity bills consuming their incomes. It hears economic progress. Small businesses see the cost of electricity, petrol and diesel eating away their margins,” he said.
According to Ibe, the real story is not that freezers are freezing, but that the quality of life of Nigerians is freezing, with household incomes frozen by inflation, small businesses frozen out by energy costs and jobs disappearing as operating costs rise.
“Perhaps the government should stop listening to these convenient voices and start listening to the millions of Nigerians struggling with the cost of energy, food, transportation and basic survival. Give Nigerians reliable and affordable electricity. Let their freezers freeze. Stop freezing their lives,” he stressed.
