The Federal Government of Nigeria has successfully flagged off the Light-up Nigeria Project in the South East geopolitical zone of the nation.
Flagging off the project on Monday, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, described the South East as the industrial powerhouse of the nation and promised the FG will expedite action towards providing steady and affordable electricity in the zone.
Shettima who is also the Chairman, Board of Directors, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, further said the intervention was a calculated endeavor to engineer the nation’s economy and improve the nation’s power supply.
In his speech, the host Governor, the Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah reiterated the essentiality of power in the economy building and called on industrialists to key in fully and take advantage of the opportunity.
Commending the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for the initiative, Governor Mbah said,
“The Light up Nigeria Project today, in my view, is a new dawn for power in the South East and one of the most innovative initiatives in the power sector. This project is of critical importance since it deals with the power sector, which I believe is pivotal to economic growth. Indeed, if we fix power, a lot of other sectors would fall into place.
“This project ensures efficient dispatch of power to the largest consumers via bilateral sales agreements, which overrides the existing bulk purchase arrangements through NBET, leveraging on a willing buyer, willing seller structure.”
“The Programme will certainly bring improved access to affordable power to the South East. This will in turn result in reduced power costs for the productive sector and enable them to improve productivity and generate jobs. This is critical in this day where the country is pushing to boost production and drive-up exports to ultimately shore up our domestic currency.”
“Therefore, this project aligns completely with our approach to governance in Enugu in the sense that it is a very disruptive initiative, which shows a deep ability to think outside the box. Today’s Nigeria requires a marked departure from business as usual to business unusual,” Mbah said.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Anambra state, Prof. Charles Soludo, urges the Federal Government to remove gas from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list to improve power generation.
Soludo explains that since electricity generation goes with gas, it is expedient that gas be moved from the Exclusive list to the concurrent list as power generation.
Paramount to the Chairman of South East Governors Forum and Governor of Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodinma the need to audit the managers of the power sector; they should account for the unused budgetary allocation to the sector Uzodinma said.
Other participants who spoke at the event urged the Federal Government to take strategic steps to solve the issues of power deficit in the South East zone to improve businesses
Governors present at the event are Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi State); Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra State); Senator Hope Uzodinma (Imo State), and Dr. Peter Mbah (Enugu State).
Other dignitaries present are the former Senate President Pius Anyim; Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; Managing Director, NDPHC, Chinedu Ugbo; Chairman, Board of Directors, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, (EEDC) Emeka Offor; Senator representing Enugu West Senatorial zone, Osita Ngwu; members of Enugu state Executive council; amongst others
