'Gov�t Must Force Nigeria To Pay For Sabotaging Gas Supply'

A former Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, has accused Nigeria of sabotaging the supply of gas to Ghana. He says Nigeria has failed to respect the sanctity of the Gas Supply Agreement it signed with Ghana. According to him, Ghana must realize that Nigeria has betrayed it and respond appropriately. In his recent article titled, �Waking up from the Pipe Dream� on the West African Gas Pipeline Project, the Chief Policy Analyst for the Ghana Institute for Public Policy Options (GIPPO) said, ��instead of begging Nigeria to get some �soppy� supply, let us absorb the reality and wake up from the West African Pipe dream and take bold and decisive steps that ensure a reliable and ample supply of our own gas resources to fuel our power plants.�� Dr. Wereko-Brobbey who had earlier told Citi FM in an interview that Ghana�s Energy Ministry was making excuses for WAPCo for its failure in meeting its gas supply obligation to the country noted in his article that ��Ghana should as a matter of urgency open both eyes, wake up from the West African pipe dream��. He said Nigeria and WAPCo must be made to pay for their incompetence and self � oversight, which led to delays and non-performance that has literally cost Ghana several millions of dollars; in addition to the never ending �dum so dum so�. He accused government of not ensuring that the company meets its obligations. Dr Wereko-Brobbey suggested in his article that Ghana should not take Nigeria�s behaviour ��lying down��. �� We cannot continue a non-reversible valve economic relationship with Nigeria and its corporate entities. We need to insist on a fully-reversible and equal partnership, each respectful of the other and fully recognizing that the sum of the parts of mutual gains can be far greater than the whole,�� he opined. Meanwhile, Executive Director of IMANI Center for Policy & Education, Franklin Cudjoe has called for the resignation of the Energy Minister, Emmanuel Kofi Buah for non-performance. Mr. Cudjoe said the Energy Minster has failed to fix the country�s energy crisis since he was elected into office. According to him, the Ministry has failed in all predictions and timelines given . �He [Energy Minister] has failed to proffer any serious vision, futuristic solution to the energy crisis; look at the demeanor, look at the public statement, none of them since this man was made a minister have been made in a manner that would give some hope to the business community or ordinary people to be able to plan�,�� he said.