By TINA TIMOTHY

As power outages continue in several parts of the country, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the negative impact on small businesses “who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood.”

Describing the situation as “a cause of grievous concern”, the former Anambra governor, on his verified X handle @PeterObi, on Sunday, October 27, 2024, however, noted that solving the problem is not rocket science.

He wrote: "The continued power outages in many parts of the country, particularly in the Northern and Eastern States, as well as South-South states, have remained a cause of grievous concern.

“It is heartbreaking to see that the affected states, majorly in the Northern parts of Nigeria, have been facing a total blackout for several days now.

“The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.

“This power crisis, when combined with the present high cost of petroleum products and a harsh operating environment, remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country.

“I have consistently maintained that solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science.”

Obi, while citing Egypt as an example of an African country that has successfully provided sustainable power supply to their citizens, maintained that investing aggressively in the power sector will go a long way in helping small businesses to thrive.

Continuing, Obi said: “Many of our comparable peer nations have demonstrated how possible it is to provide sustainable power for their citizens.

“Our African neighbour, Egypt, for example, invested aggressively in their power sector, which resulted in the establishment of a sustainable power infrastructure by way of many power stations. Today, Egypt has revolutionized power and energy production in the country, providing sustainable power to millions of small businesses, which account for over 90% of active enterprises in the country and contributes to over 80 percent of their GDP.”

While sympathizing with everyone enduring these difficult times, Obi also urged the Nigerian government to take proactive measures to provide solutions to the power sector.

“My sincere thoughts are with everyone enduring these tough times in our nation.

“I call on the government to ramp up efforts and provide both immediate and long-term solutions to this seemingly perennial challenge.

“With adequate power supply, a New Nigeria is possible,” he added.