The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) has lost hope in the power sector reform programme embarked upon by the current administration. The association said the path of power reforms as being executed is not focused and may not be in the interest of the investments of its members and ultimately those of Nigerians.
Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, president of Atcon, said internet access is now about providing it at broadband level because it is the total concept solution to the problem of reach, access and affordability. “We should be able to provide substantial broadband access to our citizens at a price they can pay but the greatest challenge is public electricity supply which incidentally does not seem to be getting a focused attention,” Omo-Ettu said.
“As things stand, he said the association does not see hope in the reform which current managers of the power industry are adopting.  “The posturing of minister of power who is working a four year plan to assure steady public power is untrustworthy as it is devoid of quality strategy and thoughtfulness,” he said. “A true liberalisation strategy in which licensees for power service delivery are permitted without any encumbrances and linkage to existing inefficient power management of PHCN system is required.”
Omo-Ettu said an attempt by Professor Barth Nnaji, minister of power, to work a minimum four year plan exposes short-sighted planning as he himself will have to break a longevity record if he stays in the post long enough to see such  weak plans implementable.
“We invite the country’s power sector managers and indeed all other sectors of the economy to deliberately embrace the workable aspects of the liberalisation strategy adopted in the telecommunications sector while making sure that the mistakes of the telecom sector are not repeated,” Omo-Ettu said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rotimi Amechi, chairman of Governors’ Forum and Governor of Rivers State, has advised the federal government to refocus the direction of power reforms by “deregulating and decentralising” power system management.
Amechi made this known after a recent meeting between the forum and the federal executive council in Abuja.