Civil Society Organizations, Pressure Groups, Students Associations Pour Encomiums On Tinubu, Adelabu on the Reappointment of TCN Leadership

 Since the reappointment of Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdul-Aziz of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, leaders of various groups have continued to pour encomiums on Mr. President and the Honorable Minister of Power for the strategic decision

Stories by Lucy Gabriel and Clement Ebaku reporting from Abuja.

“When we heard the announcement by the presidency, we were overjoyed”, explained Comrade Williams Smith Bassey. Before then, Comrade Bassey, who is the Executive Secretary of the Network of Advocacy for Private Positive Impact Initiative (NAPPI), said his organization was praying for it to happen because the country needed stability in the power sector. “We heard about the selfish opposition, the threats and petitions and we knew they were concocted lies against a humble and humane personality; we prayed for the minister and Mr. President to see beyond the schemes; we knew they were orchestrated and unfounded allegations”, he further explained, When, eventually the announcement was made, Smith Bassey said his group danced for joy because a good man has been vindicated! 

The Network of Advocacy for Private Positive Impact has been at the forefront of efforts to secure the managing director’s retention. ‘We held several press conferences trying to throw more light on the activities of this administration; luckily for us, those efforts have yielded results for the benefit of Nigerians”, Smith Bassey noted. On the 3^rd of April, came the announcement that the tenure of Engr. Sule Ahmed AbdulAziz has been renewed for another four years. This was a decision that drew wide ovation from well-meaning Nigerians who were hell-bent on preventing the cabals within the sector from reclaiming their stranglehold on the sector and bent on plunging Nigeria into continued darkness!  

They knew that Engr. AbdulAziz has been steadily replacing obsolete equipment with brand new ones, something the cabals resisted for years. Before then, there had been a groundswell of opposition, probably sponsored underground by the cabals claiming Aziz's tenure was fraught with discrepancies. This was hotly disputed by several industry watchers, amongst them the Watch Dog for Stable Power Supply in Nigeria(WDSP). According to its spokesman, Engr. Adelusi Adegoke, based in Lagos, the TCN has never before been well-positioned for the anticipated transformation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. Adegoke pointed out that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, new transformers were being purchased and installed; new Transmission Lines were being constructed across the country; circuit breakers were being replaced, and modern substations were springing up across the country at the same time! “How do you want such a man to be replaced when everyone sees genuine concern and effort on display?” he queried. 

Adegoke, who has over three decades of experience in the power sector business, pointed out that those agitating for the removal of Engr. Abdul-Aziz was doing so purely for selfish reasons rather than national concern. “You cannot expect the president to change a winning team”, he charged. In his own contribution, the leader of the Arewa Group, Mallam Salihu Muhammed, called for all hands to be on deck to move the electricity sector forward. He said, there was no denying the fact that Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdul-Aziz has been exceptional in his performance. “ I have never met this man, but where I live in Dei Dei, I see the powerful substation springing up, and I am so impressed; around my community, I also see brand new transformers being installed, and I know that, for the first time, there is somebody accountable and responsible,” disclosed Muhammed.  Meanwhile, Comrade Mesearch Afolabi, of the National Association of University Students, hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Honorable Minister for their well-deserved reappointment of the TCN boss. 

The student leader said they were particularly impressed, judging from the remarkable improvements noticed in the electricity sector. “You can’t fail to notice the prodigious efforts of the Managing Director, who has been so loyal and patriotic to his assignment; we will join hands with him to continue the good works and pray for God’s guidance and protection”, he stated. Nevertheless, a few motley individuals had attempted to make this epoch-making decision, but were quickly shot down with the deluge of congratulations that poured in from all walks of life, including the Governor of Katsina and some Emirs, which sharply rendered their opposition insignificant. “Now that this decision has been made, the time has come for the new management of the TCN to rally round themselves, work together and bury whatever hatchet they harbor’. Salihu Muhamed advised. According to him, the most important thing in life is collaboration and cooperation, and service to the motherland. “What the nation needs today are people of sound mind with vision and foresight”, said Salihu, stressing that
That is the stuff, Engr. Sule Abdul-Aziz is made!