Power outages disrupt Nigeria Governors’ Forum retreat

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Frequent power outage at the venue of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, retreat, Friday, disrupted activities at the event as politicians and experts met to explore possibilities for moving the country forward.
The 3rd NGF Retreat ‘Towards a Sustainable Democracy’ held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos.
The first session, chaired by Bukola Saraki, former NGF Chairman, began with two topics – ‘Overview of the Current State of Agriculture in the States’ and ‘Nigeria Without Oil: Unlocking Agricultural Value Chain.
At the beginning of the session, there was a five minute power outage, forcing the announcer to scramble for an apology to the audience after electricity was restored. A few minutes later, there was another power cut which lasted three minutes.
The third power cut within the hour lasted almost 30 minutes, throwing
the hall into darkness and forcing the governors to make a momentary exit; a 10-minute break was announced.
Some of the governors joked that the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party was responsible for the disruptions.
“The coincidence of PHCN/NEPA taking the light every time I try to moderate the #NGFRETREAT is worrisome,” Mr. Saraki said in a tweet during his session.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Rotimi Amaechi, Chairman of the Governors Forum, said that the retreat was part of efforts to collectively reflect on the nation’s national life and articulate ways forward not only for the states but also for the country as a whole.
“The second Retreat held in Sokoto focused on political devolution of more powers and functions, with the requisite fiscal empowerment and independence to the states; broader redefinition of national security, transformative political leadership,” Mr. Amaechi said.
“We are gathered together again on the occasion of this third retreat to build on the gains of the last retreat as well as explore and take forward the 2014-2016 Strategic Plan of the Forum,” he added.
Although the programme of events had all the 36 state governors expected to participate in the discussion segments of the event; PDP governors stayed away.
In attendance include Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos State Governor; Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State; Aliyu Wamakko, Governor, Sokoto State; Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State governor; Abdulazeez Yari, Zamfara State Governor; Segun Adesegun, Ogun State Deputy Governor; and Eze Madumere, Deputy Governor of Imo State.
Friday’s retreat focused on priority areas such as agriculture, corruption, education and security.