President MuhammaduBuhari said yesterday in Abuja that his administration will give the fullest possible attention to boosting power supply in Nigeria because it was convinced that steady electricity will launch the country into faster socio-economic development.

Speaking after being briefed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador GodknowsIgali, President Buhari said that his administration had already identified the critical problems in Nigeria’s power sector and was taking appropriate actions to address them.

The President said that his administration had also prioritised certain measures in its action plan to boost electricity supply in Nigeria.

“The problems besetting our power sector are not difficult to identify. Therefore, priorities can be easily set in order to tackle them. The problems are more with transmission than generation, and we equally need to secure the power infrastructure round the country. We will address all these issues.” Ambassador Igali told the President that power generation in Nigeria which was 1,750 MW in 1999, had now peaked at 4,600 MW.

He added that gas was available to take generation to 5,500 MW in a short time, but that the country needed to expand its electricity infrastructure to accommodate additional power generation.

•State House photo shows President Buhari with the Power Ministry officials . . . yesterday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.