Tolu Ogunlesi fact-checks journalist over collapsed national power grid

An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Tolu Ogunlesi and a broadcast journalist, Sandra Ezekwesili have gone head on with each other over the fresh collapse of Nigeria’s national electricity grid.

Recall that, it was reported that the national grid, collapsed on Monday, March 14, 2022, pushing both the citizens and businesses to groan about due to the outrage in power supply.

Ezekwesili, who is the host of current affairs radio programme ‘Hard Facts’ on Nigeria Info 99.3FM, took to the micro blogging, platform to criticize the Buhari administration over the fresh power grid collapse and how it has worsened epileptic power supply in the country.

“The way the national grid keeps collapsing under this admin, you would think it was one of those men who trekked from Lagos to Abuja to welcome Buhari.

“Every single thing this administration campaigned on, they’ve failed to deliver and some of them, they’ve made worse. Insecurity, poverty, corruption, power, the economy, you name it, they’ve failed at it,” She tweeted on Tuesday.

Reacting to the post, President Buhari’s special assistant on new media, Ogunlesi, quoted statistics from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator, whilst faulting the journalist over her remarks.

His tweet read, “From 42 grid collapses in 2010 to 4 in 2020 sounds to me like the kind of progress we should be highlighting.

“Nobody is saying all is well, far from it. We still have a long way to go, but we are headed in the right direction. What we need to do is DO MORE!"

He went further to admonish the broadcaster to “help us with some kick-ass journalism here” adding that “There are journalistic responsibilities that cannot be evaded in the name of bants.”

Ezekwesili, however, scolded Ogunlesi for trying to justify the current grid collapse by making comparison to what was obtainable about seven to ten years ago before the Buhari administration came to power.

Their conversation, however degenerated into insults with Ogunlesi saying “a thin-skinned journalist isn’t a good look”, while Ezekwesili described the presidential aide as an “agbaya” .

Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu had convened an emergency meeting with the stakeholders in the power sector to address the current low power generation which has caused epileptic supply across the nation.

Aliyu assured that the government will not relent in its efforts to ensure that improvements in the power sector are sustained so that the electricity supply improves across Nigeria.