‘I didn’t intend to insult Nigerians’ — Adelabu apologises over ‘keeping freezer on’ remarks

 “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.”

The comment did not go down well with many Nigerians who
criticised the minister for his handling of the ministry of power.

Speaking on the comment, Adelabu said the statement was
borne out of his passion for a change in the power sector.

He added that the remark was directed at customers in the
Band A category, who are expected to enjoy 20 hours of electricity supply in a
day.

“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.

“It was out of my passion and eagerness to ensure that we
make a change in the sector, which has suffered a lot of setbacks for some
years.

“We said we need to cultivate the culture of energy
consumption management. It was just a comical illustration.”

Recently, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission
(NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band
A classification.