Mr Uka Ibe, a renewable energy expert, has called for synergy among stakeholders in a bid to solve the pervasive energy deficit in the country.
Ibe spoke in Ibadan while receiving members of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Ibadan chapter who paid him a visit recently.
The Chief Executive Officer of Nexgen Energy described the challenges in the sector as massive saying, however that the problems are surmountable with the collaboration of stakeholders.
He said, “We are looking at collaborative efforts where the engineers and other professionals in other disciplines like legal and finance come together so that we are able to look at things holistically.
“This is because we are not just looking at the engineering problem only but a problem that has to do with funding, contracting and trained manpower. It takes a lot of synergy among professionals for us to be able to address the power problem.
“We need to collaborate to be able to solve the energy challenges in the country.”
According to him, grants are available locally and internationally for people in the industry to increase access to electricity especially in the rural areas.
He said, “Part of why the grants are interesting is because the rural places that really need it, about 44.6 per cent of Nigerians, don’t have access to electricity.
“At individual level, it is okay even if it is one customer that you are able to solve that takes the energy deficit off the bulk that we have.
“At individual level, you can train more people to come into the industry so that we have a lot of foot soldiers because if you are looking at deploying such massive infrastructure to address the deficit we need technicians, sales representatives and customer service so all hands must be on deck.
“If you don’t have the funding at the individual level you can acquire the technical skills to be able to contribute and if you have the funding come in as an investor so that those with technical and business skills would be able to deploy the funding to solve the problem.
“Energy deficit is a problem for everyone, not just the government alone or the private sector alone. It has to be collaborative work for all.
“Even civil society organisations can come up with advocacy and enlightenment programmes for more acceptance for renewable energy and thereby increase access because energy itself can solve economic and social crises we are having.
“Availability of energy at the rural areas will reduce rural urban migration and that would solve a lot of problems for all of us.”
Mr Olayiwola Oyelade, Chairman NIEEE, said as engineers, we want to change the way we do things for the better hence we have periodic technical visits to educate our members.
“The sensorship will prompt the supply authority to know when people attempt to steal.
“This is just one of the interventions to improve the energy sector. There are other things we are doing to make the sector better,” Oyelade said.
