The Managing Director, Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA), Engr. Peter Ewesor said the agency has refused the installation of 93 substandard transformers and 400 concrete poles from the power networks to ensure safety and standards.
Speaking on Thursday as the guest lecturer at the 5th Otis Anyaeji Annual Lecture in Abuja with the theme ‘Electrical Safety’, Ewesor said the agency was bent on preventing electrical accidents and ensuring that standards are followed in the power sector.
He however expressed concerns about professionalism saying, “There is now a total deviation from the normal practice and if we don’t change it, we will not have power.”
Ewesor who is also the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation (CEIF) said there is neglect on the part of utility service providers and the electricity consumers.
He identified challenges in the sector to include epileptic power supply, high electrical accidents, use of substandard materials, aging networks and poor engineering.
“We have been lucky because we don’t have 27/7 power supply. The day Nigerians start having 24/7 power supply for long there will be accidents because the conductors are bad,” Ewesor warned.
To the professionals, he charged members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to always insist on quality works in the power sector. “I want to tell engineers to do it right the first time, and to do it right always,” he said.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Engr. Ogbonnaya Onu said the Presidential Executive Order No. 5 was unveiled in February 2018. Represented by the Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Prof. Mohammed Haruna, he said the Order will be converted to an Act to help Nigeria to plan and achieve local capacity in engineering, science and technology by 2024, in 2030 and a plan that lasts to 2063.
The Chairman of the NSE, Maitama Branch, Engr. Markus Dye said the lectures hosted by the branch is a platform to explore important engineering topics with reaching impact on members of the public.
He said this year edition is on electrical safety which is key to the use of electricity, an invaluable necessity. “But useful as it is, it can be fatally dangerous,” he noted.
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