The Nigerian Government has assured investors in the country of adequate power supply, especially in industrial clusters.
Vice President, Kashim Shettima, gave the assurance during a business roundtable held in Agbara, Ado-Odo-Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, South West Nigeria. He said the nation holds tremendous opportunities for not only investors but also the people.
The event was to launch an initiative to ensure dedicated power supply to industrial clusters across the nation, starting with Agbara Industrial Estate.
Shettima said that it is embarrassing that the Agbara Cluster relies on other sources of power supply aside from the national grid, adding that the Nigerian Government through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is committed to ensuring that clusters like Agbara benefit from a cheaper means of generating power in their various factories.
The Vice President, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, of NDPHC promised that the Agbara Industrial Estate will have a steady power supply in the next four months.
He said: “I am here to reassure the business community that we mean business. I want to give you my word and my word is my bond, if you need 200 Megawatts, 300 Megawatts, we can give it to you.
“Be rest assured we are going to supply your power needs with no strings attached. We are giving power to Togo, I think we are giving 100 Megawatts to Togo, and some of these nations are not even paying us. Why can’t we give to businesses that will pay us? It is just simple arithmetic; it is a matter of economics.”
The Vice President charged the staff of NDPHC to double their effort by ensuring the delivery of the Agbara Industrial Cluster power program in three to four months.
Shettima spoke of the commitment of President Tinubu to make power available to the entire nation.
“It is all about advocacy, it is about people believing in you and I have the confidence of my boss, such that I can talk authoritatively. He is very passionate about the Nigerian project. He is very committed to repositioning this nation,” he said.
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun said that without electricity, all infrastructure provided for the use of the people of the state and the nation as a whole would be in vain.
Governor Abiodun said that his administration has established additional industrial clusters, saying that without stable and reliable power, all the initiatives would be in vain.
“We believe that such initiatives like this speak to ensuring the sustainability of competitive industrialisation and one must not but salute this initiative.
“We as a state have gone ahead besides this Agbara Cluster, we have five other clusters. We have one by the Interchange called Remo Cluster, we are creating a new one called the Magboro Cluster. We are creating our own Aerotropolis which is our special agro-processing zone, which will be the first of its kind in Nigeria. We also have the Ijebu-Ode cluster because we believe that it is through these clusters that we can jump-start socio-economic activity.
“These clusters, what do they seem to do, we provide the parcel of land, provide the needed infrastructure and this attracts industrial activities.
“But, without a doubt, without stable, reliable and clean power, all these initiatives will be in vain. So, to that extent, we are extremely excited,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu represented by his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat said ensuring adequate power supply in the nation is complex because of the attitudes of Nigerians.
Hamzat regretted that out of about 13,000 Megawatts available, Nigeria could only transmit 4,000 Megawatts.
“The issue of our power is complex and why it is complex is because of bad behaviour among all of us, the stakeholders, the distribution companies and the generating companies.
“For me, the biggest challenge that we see in Nigeria now is public commentary. We have a lot of people that go out there to just say things, demeaning our institutions and that is the biggest challenge.
“When the international community does surveys, they listen to your news and then you keep killing your nation. The truth of the matter is that Lagos and Ogun states are safer than New York. The possibility of being shot in New York is higher than being in Lagos.
Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu on his part said the event marked a pivotal moment in the collective endeavour to fortify one of the backbones of the industrial landscape of Nigeria.
He noted that the project stands as the first of many projects in the federal government’s light-up initiative to deliver reliable electricity to industrial and heavy user clusters across the nation.
Adelabu stressed that Agbara is a cluster where dreams are forged, industries thrive and where opportunities are limitless, adding that the ambitious endeavour when completed will bolster the power supply within the industrial estate by ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted flow of electricity to meet the demands of the industries.
Earlier in his welcome address, the MD/CEO, of NDPHC, Chiedu Ugbo disclosed that the event signifies the commitment of the present administration through NDPHC to ensure consistent and reliable power supply to industrial concerns.
He noted that the company is the only government-owned company responsible for implementing the integrated power project of the government which aims to enhance electricity generation.
Ugbo said that the primary objective of the initiative was to ensure a consistent, reliable and cost-effective supply of electricity from power plants across Nigeria to the extensive industrial and business clusters in Agbara and across the nation.
He noted that NDPHC has successfully constructed about 8 power plants with a combined capacity of approximately 4,000 Megawatts.
Dominica Nwabufo
