Jonathan Eze
Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) has planned a two day national sensitisation workshop for host community youth leaders where power stations and pipeline installations are located across the country.
This development is against the backdrop of epileptic and deteriorating power supply which had led to the closure of many firms in recent times.
The workshop is scheduled to hold on the 25th -26th of September 2017.
In a statement signed by a former governorship candidate and the founder and chairman of the group, Mr. Moses Siloko Siasia, he noted that the nation’s power sector problems are far from being fixed unless major and sustainable steps are taken by the federal government in the strategic engagement of those who are key actors of the unfortunate growing act of sabotage which is killing the economy.
According to him, the proposed workshop is against the backdrop of a statement by the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who stated that Nigerians are experiencing irregular power supply due to instability in the national grid owing to low generation, adding that Nigeria is currently generating less than 3,000 megawatts (MW) and that once that is the case, the system shuts itself on and off.
Siasia, however, lamented that in spite of the fact that the federal government had injected several billions of tax payers’ money into the power sector to stimulate economic growth, the nation is still witnessing daily gas pipeline vandalism, destruction and stealing of power stations equipment, a concern that President Muhammadu Buhari and Fashola on different occasions expressed and blamed on sabotage.
He added that a critical mass of young professionals have lost their jobs because of companies shutting down their operations due to shortage of power supply which has also contributed to the disturbing rate of unemployment in the country.
His words : ‘’This shameful act of sabotage is majorly caused by youths of our generation who have lost faith and do not see themselves as stakeholders in our society.
‘’It is imperative to note with our recent findings that it’s only few stakeholders and players in the power sector that is concerned about finding a solution to this menace while some sees it as a cash cow because of their selfish interest.
“But for us as NYPF, we see it as an opportunity to contribute our quota towards nation building. At the end of the workshop, participants will be strategically engaged as volunteers for proper security surveillance of the nation’s power assets for effective and efficient increased power supply and service delivery “Siasia concludedâ€.
