Bribes, Debt, $100 Billion Lost: Nigeria Can't Keep the Power On
- About two-thirds of the population live without electricity
- Dilapidated national grid can't handle more than 5,000MW
Egbin Power Plc's newly renovated plant. Photographer: George Osodi/Bloomberg
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Five minutes into Frank Edozie’s presentation on the challenges facing Nigeria’s power industry, the electricity cut out in the Jasmine Hall at the upmarket Eko Hotel in Lagos.
“Very timely,” Edozie, a former power ministry adviser and a senior consultant to the U.K.-funded Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Facility, said over the low muttering and laughter of an audience of more than 100 people. “We probably ran out of gas.”