Members of the National Union of Electricity Employees, on Thursday, threatened to throw the country into darkness should President Goodluck Jonathan fail to appoint a focused engineer as Minister of Power.

The union’s Assistant General Secretary (West), Mr Johnson Fati, while addressing newsmen in Ibadan, urged President Jonathan to appoint a technocrat, well experienced and seasoned engineer who could deliver as minister.

While noting that the Federal Government was planning to put a non-professional as Minister of Power, the union expressed doubt over the performance of the Presidential Taskforce on Power, because of the lack of indepth technical knowledge of the sector.

According to the union, the present power situation in the country was a clear manifestation of the committee’s ineptitude.

While noting that two licences were issued to the companies owned by the committee’s chairman, Professor Barth Nnaji, to generate power since seven years ago, the union disclosed that the companies had not generated one watt of electricity.

It really is not about who is appointed as Minister of power . If political will is absent , nothing will change.  That is what most Nigerians failed to understand when they headed for the polling booth to cast their vote sentimentally. What has Jonathan done , in his entire history, to show he is politically brave (exactly what Nigeria needs) or a reformer ready to take on the odious system?

Some day , it will be clear to many of us that , like corruption, an entrenched sub-culture is now in place , with very powerful Nigerians as practicing members, that prevents Nigeria from making progress. It is only a President willing to battle this sub-culture , and not one willing to befriend and placate its prominent members, that can move Nigeria forward.

This sub-culture , pervasively destructive for Nigeria yet extremely rewarding for a few, is sustained and driven by those who see themselves as the "owners of Nigeria" . Any president not ready to battle the "owners of Nigeria" will fail . Jonathan , so far , wants to shadow-box around them sometimes and aid them directly [/b]at other times i.e moribund NNPC directed to turn around refineries within 24 months instead of outright sale of our refineries (which are nothing but testimony to gross corruption) and the announcement by GEJ that "leaner Government not possible". It does not matter who becomes Minister of power. [b]More important is the President's resolute commitment to reform which will be highly resisted by those too used to easy billions. So far , GEJ has failed in that respect . He has capitulated to the owners of Nigeria far too easily already and I simply cannot have any optimism for the Power sector given what I have seen .