I’m not a magician: New power minister, Abubakar Aliyu

Abubakar Aliyu, the new minister of power, said he’s not a magician but will surely add value to the electricity sector.

Aliyu stated this on Monday as he assumed office – after President Muhammadu Buhari sacked Saleh Mamman as the minister of power on September 1.

He urged all stakeholders in the industry to work together to ensure adequate power supply to consumers.

He said: “I am here to work together with all of you. I listened carefully when some of you introduced yourselves with various titles working in the ministry of power. I want those titles to be translated to the production of power to Nigerians from generation, transmission to distribution. That is when our titles will make more meaning.

“Otherwise, time would come when we would be ashamed to mention our names with those titles. So, I want to ask everyone from the permanent secretary down to the smallest on the ladder by rank in any part of the ministry of power to be dedicated and committed to the task ahead.

“I am not an electrical engineer or having anything to do with power in the past but I am an engineer and I know when something is going wrong I will detect it. I will not allow it and I will try my best to make amends, together with you or without you, because that is my mandate, to ensure that we succeed.

“Don’t look at me as the minister of power that I have come to make magic. No, I am not a magician. I am coming to add value to what you have already been doing. So let us work together in honesty and full commitment.”

The new power minister added that he was sent to the ministry to improve power generation, transmission, and distribution.