I Won’t Promise 24-Hour Electricity in Four Years, It’s Not Realistic – Peter Obi

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has said he will not promise Nigerians uninterrupted electricity within four years if elected president, describing such a commitment as unrealistic.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, Obi said improving the country’s electricity supply would be a major priority of his administration, but cautioned against making promises that could not be achieved within a single presidential term.

“I will not tell Nigerians that I’m going to deliver reliable, stable, 24-hour electricity within four years because it is impossible,” he said.

According to the former Anambra State governor, building new power plants and upgrading transmission infrastructure require several years, making a nationwide 24-hour electricity supply unattainable within four years.

Instead, Obi pledged to focus on strengthening electricity generation, transmission and distribution to significantly improve power supply across the country.

He said his administration would work towards ensuring Nigeria consistently generates, transmits and distributes at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity, adding that the country’s major challenge is not generation but the inability to transmit and distribute available power efficiently.

“We are already generating more than 10,000 megawatts, but we are unable to transmit it effectively. My goal is to ensure we can generate, transmit and distribute that power,” he said.

Obi also promised to expand embedded power projects by replicating successful decentralised electricity models, citing Geometric Power in Aba as an example that could be adopted in industrial centres such as Kano’s Bompai and Sharada districts to boost economic activities.

He further stressed the need to restore investor confidence in the power sector by clearing outstanding debts owed to electricity generation companies, which he said run into trillions of naira.

“The government owes generating companies trillions of naira. We must pay them,” Obi stated.

The NDC presidential candidate added that his administration would be guided by realistic promises, accountability and transparency, assuring Nigerians that he would openly explain any challenges if his government fell short of its commitments.