To achieve 6,000MW target Power Minister signs performance bond with agencies’ CEOs

By Akpokona Omafuaire

 IN efforts to achieve the targeted  6,000 Megawatts of power at the end of the year, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has signed performance contracts with senior officials of the Ministry including heads of agencies and parastatals.

The Minister who spoke after the inauguration of a working group for the sector, said the bond would enable him to monitor the progress of the agencies and be able to evaluate them.

The Minister had earlier in April set a 6,000MW generation and distribution target for the sector, insisting that the infrastructure to deliver that amount of electricity was already in place. 

 However, power generation in the first half of the year has averaged 4,000MW with the national grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, collapsing thrice in three months. 

 Adelabu explained that he and the Permanent Secretary had in November last year signed a similar performance bond with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through which his performance and that of the ministry would be evaluated.

 He said: “We signed that high-level performance contract. Now, we have cascaded that performance agreement down into the various relevant ministerial departments and agencies that will contribute to the overall achievement of what we signed with the President. As you know, it's a top-down approach while it's also a bottom-up approach.

“Every department in the ministry and every agency that we have has one or two roles to play in the achievement of the overall targets. So, that's what we are signing today with the Permanent Secretary who represents the ministry, with CEOs of agencies who represent each of the agencies. 

“And we believe that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. So, we don't want any of our ministerial departments or agencies to drop the ball. We must be focused”, he stressed.

Speaking on possible consequences for CEOs whose agencies were not able to meet set targets, he said: “Just like the performance delivery is top-down, reward will also be top-down on achievement. Then, sanctions too, will be top-down. Depending on the sanctions that Mr. President is going to mete out to a non-performing minister and a non-performing council, we will determine the sanctions that will be met out to everybody involved here.

“So there's no express or specific sanctions, they will just be that we do our best and put in our best to make sure we achieve our targets”, he disclosed.

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