ATCON’s energy summit gets new date

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has announced a new date for its one-day summit on energy and power.

Champion Infotel recalls that the summit was earlier scheduled for Friday, July 13, but has been shifted to Friday, July 28, this year.

The Executive Secretary at ATCON, Mr. Godwin Morgan while disclosing this said that the summit which is a one-day stakeholders’ brainstorming with the theme, “The State of Energy & Power Sector: Implications for Telecoms Development In Nigeria” would still hold at the Golden Gate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Mr. Morgan added that the shift in the earlier date was necessitated by a clash with another equally important event in which some key sponsors and invited dignitaries will also attend and participate in various capacities.

“Considering the great importance of the issues to be examined at our Energy & Power Summit, ATCON thought it wise to shift the date forward to enable full and active participation by all the relevant stakeholders,” he said.

He stressed that energy and power sector is undoubtedly a critical and very important sector in any developing economy because of the enormous and vital roles they play in the socio-economic and industrial development of nations.

“It is simple logic to state that a vibrant and reliable energy and power sector promotes rapid and sustainable industrial development and boosts economic growth,” he declared.

Mr. Morgan noted that on the other hand, a failed energy and power sector brings industrial doom, economic stagnation and depression to any nation.

ATCON emphasised that over the years, the state of the Nigerian energy and power sector has been a source of endless worries to both the government and the governed.

“The situation has kept deteriorating from one regime to another. Governments have spent billions of Naira in this sector, yet succour has failed to come,” he said, stressing that the immediate past administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, battled in the last eight years to introduce a paradigm shift in the sector, but there seems to be nothing to show for the huge investments in that sector.

“Instead, analysts observed that the situation has only grown from worse to worst,” ATCON said.

According to the association, the burden of doing business in Nigeria with the epileptic energy and power situation has therefore increased tremendously, forcing many businesses to either operate below capacity or even close shops.

“The energy and power summit could not have come at better time than now that the Federal Government headed by President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua and the relevant government agencies have shown greater concerns over the deteriorating state of energy and power provisioning in Nigeria,” ATCON said, expressing optimism that this is the right time for all stakeholders in the various economic sectors to join hands in the onerous challenge of improving the state and level of energy and power supply in the country to ensure steady development and sustainable growth of the various sectors of our national economy.

Hence ATCON finds it imperative to organise a summit around this theme.


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