The Chairman of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp),  Tony Elumelu, has called on the federal government to revamp the power sector and privatise transmission lines in order to revive the nation’s struggling economy.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Elumelu noted that insufficient transmission lines and lack of liquidity in the electricity market are hampering growth in the industry

Elumelu who is also the  Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA),  added that poor electricity supply is responsible for the low level of productivity in the country.

He stated: “The currency crisis is a sign of many things.  As a country, we can’t produce well enough in spite of our natural resources. The reason is lack of electricity,”  he stated.

Nigeria sends less than a third of the 13,000 megawatt of electricity it generates to the grid, leaving most Nigerians dependent on home generators.

Elumelu said the way out, is for President  Bola Tinubu’s government to lure investors to develop the nation’s large gas reserves to fuel power stations, and allow the private sector to manage the transmission lines.

In 2013, Nigeria sold about 15 state-owned generators to private companies to improve efficiency while keeping ownership of the transmission lines. But the lack of investment in the transmission assets meant that they are too weak and inefficient to wheel power to consumers. “Even where you generate electricity, the grid cannot take it, so it’s a problem for us, I am advocating let us privatize transmission lines,” Elumelu stated.

He urged the federal government to attract investors to develop the nation’s large gas reserves to fuel power stations, and allow the private sector to manage the transmission lines.

“Some institutions have idle gas assets or fields. Government should take some of these and let Nigerians who have the resources and means to invest in gas take them,” he added.