News Investigators/ Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to setup a probe panel on the incessant national grid collapse.
Mr Oyintiloye, while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, said the incessant collapse of the grid was becoming worrisome, and needed a presidential investigation panel.
According to him, the latest collapse that occurred on Thursday, Dec. 12, making it the 12th time the national grid will collapse in 2024 alone.
The grid collapse occurred on same day the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, promised that the grid would achieve significant stability with the completion of phase one of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), also known as the Siemens project.
Mr Oyintiloye, who emphasised the importance of electricity to the economy, said that the frequent collapses of the national grid was having negative toll on businesses in the country.
He said there was an urgent need for a presidential probe to investigate holistically what was responsible for the frequent collapses of the grid, so as to restore sanity to the power sector.
Mr Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), also said that for the grid to have collapsed 12 times within a year “shows something is wrong somewhere.”
He said: “I believe that Presidential investigation into this matter will unravel what the problem is and the possible lasting solution to it.
“The country is blessed with all the resources needed to keep the grid running, then why the collapse all the time?
“The embarrassment must stop and sanity must be brought back to the power sector for the sake of our economy. If act of sabotage is involved, through investigation, that will be revealed.”
Mr Oyintiloye said that at the end of the investigation, anyone found culpable of sabotaging the efforts of the government in ensuring stable power supply must be made to face the consequences.
He also urged the minister of power to put in more efforts in ensuring that those responsible for the maintenance of the grid were up to their responsibilities.
Mr Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, said since Nigerians were already paying so much for electricity, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefits.
NAN
