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FG rejected findings of the report
- Says energy sent to DisCos has been on a steady increase
- Says only Band D and E receive less than 12 hours daily
The Federal Government (FG) has rejected the report by the World Bank on the state of the Nigeria power sector. In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmed Zakari, the FG argues that the claims in the report are not accurate and questioned the validity of the data used in the report.
The FG insisted that the sector has witnessed significant progress over the years despite some hitches along the way such as the failure of 17 of 25 power plants last week. On the claim by the World Bank that 78% of consumers receive less than 12 hours supply, the FG clarified that according to data from the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), only consumers on Band D and E receive less than 12 hours supply.
On metering, the statement read, “It is unclear who did this survey and what the timeframe is. All citizens that have got free meters report they are happy about the reform trajectory”.
The FG expressed shock at the surprise release of such a damning report from the World Bank despite the working relation. The report also stated that the only verifiable data relating to the Nigerian power sector comes from the Ministry of Power, NERC, and the Central Bank. “We have a good working relationship with the bank but metrics around the Nigerian power sector will come from the ministry of power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also regularly publishes intervention data” the statement read.