A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has described the frequent collapse of the national grid as a national embarrassment.
The former Delta State governorship aspirant reaction is coming after the grid collapsed three times last week.
Onuesoke, who spoke to newsmen on the sideline during a workshop on energy supply in Lagos, said the development was a national threat to the security of the country.
He said the consistent failure of the national grid has serious consequences for the Nigerian economy because electricity supply, a developing nation, was crucial to the country's economic growth.
He wondered how those in charge would explain the situation whereby the national grid would collapse three times within a weeks when it was glaring that regular electricity supply was the live wire of national economy and security.
He pointed out that Nigeria's economy suffers greatly from the regular failure of the national grid, stressing that it has reduced output in manufacturing and services, raised household expenses, and slowed growth in the economy.
His words: "The collapse reduces the ability of Nigerian businesses to compete internationally, hence many firms are forced to invest in alternate power sources, such as generators, which dramatically raise their operational expenses.
"Second, the service industry as a whole is affected, especially in financial and technological fields. The steady flow of electricity is crucial to the success of these industries. The frequent grid failures cause disruptions in service, which in turn reduces both the companies' capacity to make a profit and the quality of their service to the people of Nigeria.
"The third effect is on individual families. As a result of these blackouts, many homes have had to switch to expensive, inconvenient alternatives to conventional electricity. As a result, households will have less money available to spend, which will have a ripple effect on the economy as a whole."
Onuesoke stressed that the electrical sector require immediate and long-term responses to the issue, wondering what the state governors were doing after the Federal Government had given them the green light to go ahead to construct their own power stations.
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He added: "They know that without electricity there is no development anywhere in the world. How many governors can boast of creating just 10 per cent of their own power stations? None. Why is that they depend on the federal government for statutory allocation and electricity supply whereas the federal government has given them instruction to act. What are they really there for?"
