Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, issued an apology regarding his recent remarks criticizing Nigerians who leave their freezers and air conditioners running when they’re not at home. Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Adelabu clarified that his comments were not meant to offend Nigerians.
In his previous statement, made last Thursday, the minister pointed out that Nigerians tend to lack a culture of managing power consumption, largely due to the affordability of electricity supply. However, he now expresses regret for any offense caused by his remarks and emphasizes that his intention was not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians.
“A lot of people will come back from work, they want to have dinner, or they want to see their colleagues down the road, they switch on the AC for the room to be cooling before they come back,” Adelabu had said.
“Some people will be going to work in the morning, a freezer that you left on for days, they will still leave it on when all the items in the freezer are frozen and five, six, eight hours of their absence will not make it to defreeze, they will still leave it to be consuming power just because we are not paying enough.”
Many Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with the minister’s management of the power ministry following his remark.
Adelabu defended his statement, explaining that it stemmed from his desire for reform in the power sector. He clarified that it specifically addressed Band A category customers, who are supposed to receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
“It was never intended to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians in any way. I never said people should switch off their freezers,” Adelabu said.
“It was actually innocent advice with regard to energy consumption management, which we believe will go a long way in reducing people’s energy bills.
“The example of the freezer, it might not have gone down well with the majority of Nigerians. I will say sorry about that. It was never my intention to insult anybody.
