Politics
PRESIDENT TINUBU PLEDGES TO REMOVE ALL OBSTACLES ACROSS THE POWER SECTOR VALUE CHAIN
PRESIDENT TINUBU PLEDGES TO REMOVE ALL OBSTACLES ACROSS THE POWER SECTOR VALUE CHAIN
…notes NNPC-NIPCO partnership on 35 state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Friday, declared that despite the nation’s current rate of energy supply, his administration is poised to address all the obstacles militating against stable electricity supply in the country.
He said his administration will bring solutions to the multifarious challenges across the electric power sector value chain which will significantly relieve longstanding problems of suppressed demand and improve the steadiness of peak supply for Nigerians, affirming that improved energy generation and distribution is an imperative for accelerated national growth.
President Tinubu spoke at the ground breaking ceremony of the new 350MW Gwagwalada Independent Thermal Power Plant (Phase 1) where he urged the NNPC and its partners to deliver the landmark project within the promised three years completion timeline, insisting that, “three years must be three years.”
“Although the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is currently characterized by huge supply-gap deficits owing to dilapidated power infrastructure and poor distributions networks, amongst others, this administration is poised to address every power value chain challenge that will significantly relieve the suppressed demand, enhance generation, and improve national peak growth & sustainability far above the hitherto abysmal and unacceptable 5,300MW for over 200 million Nigerians,” the President declared.
President Tinubu noted that a swift improvement in the stability and quantum of energy supply will enhance national economic development, which remains a cardinal priority of his administration.
“During my electioneering campaign, I made a commitment to Nigerians on providing stable electricity. This is to be achieved by ensuring that we use all available energy sources to boost power generation beyond the current installed capacity of 12,000 megawatts, strengthening the integrity of our transmission infrastructure and ensuring that all distribution bottlenecks are removed. We can not form the productive and industrialised economy we need in order to conclusively tackle poverty, and create thousands of high paying manufacturing jobs for our teeming young people, whose creativity and talent we must harness for national development, without reliable electricity,” the president stated.
President Tinubu affirmed that adequate energy, broadly, and electricity, specifically, is to be treated as the topmost national economic imperative, if Nigeria must develop and maximise her human and natural resources, stating that “to accelerate our economic growth, we must work hard to remove every obstacle that has slowed down our progress. I have often said that electricity is the greatest human invention of the last 1,000 years.
“We cannot advance and join the rest of the developed world if we remain stuck with our current electricity supply situation and unable to supply the energy our country requires to power a doubling of the size of our Gross Domestic Product within the next decade.”
The President expressed his excitement that the landmark project was commencing at the onset of his administration.
“The groundbreaking for the Gwagwalada thermal power plant (Phase 1) is highly significant to the nation, as it marks the first bold step and the beginning of the administration’s concerted efforts to entrench a strong and virile energy foundation for uninterrupted power supply to boost the economy and accelerate industrial growth.
The Gwagwalada 350MW (Phase 1) project is part of an incremental 3,600MW cumulative power project that is based on market-driven designs along the Abuja, Kaduna and Kano (AKK) gas pipeline corridors, which will further underpin the project’s economic viability while generating multiple foreign direct investments (FDIs) for the nation,” President Tinubu further stated.
The President promised to harness the nation’s gas resources, assuring that “this administration will latch onto the global declaration of gas as a ‘transition fuel’ and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to enhance investments in the oil and gas sector to fully harness the more than 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven gas reserves which are expected to deepen domestic gas utilization through improved power generation, establishment of gas-based industries, petrochemical firms, as well as liquified/compressed natural gas (auto-gas) development to catalyze sustainable economic development while creating millions of jobs for the teeming Nigerian populace.”
President Tinubu pledged his administration’s commitment to addressing the power challenges and gas utilisation with a clear focus on advancing the diversification of its energy mix.
“Nigeria will continue to vigorously pursue the implementation of other low-Carbon energy options as part of a larger mix, such as Solar, Hydro, Wind, Thermal and biofuels (for both on grid and off-grid power systems) to help shore-up our national energy supply to meet the growing domestic demands and ensure that adequate energy penetrates the homes of our people with a view to improving the standard of living of our people in the rural areas,” the President assured.
While commending the NNPCL for leveraging on the established AKK Gas pipeline through this laudable project, President Tinubu charged the NNPCL to ensure the prompt and early completion of the project saying, “while planning this project, the prudent use of resources has been given top priority, as by this endeavor, Nigeria will strategically underpin the commerciality of the multi-billion dollar AKK gas pipeline, even as we evolve a competitive low-power tariff structure and revitalize numerous industries that will create millions of direct and indirect jobs.”
“I would like to commend the efforts of the NNPC Ltd, alongside General Electric and CMEC, for this business partnership initiative and I hereby charge the team to ensure that this three year project is successfully implemented on the agreed scope, time, and budget,” the President charged.
President Tinubu further applauded the NNPCL for its proactive initiative in this direction, saying “the recent strategic partnership between the NNPC Ltd and NIPCO Gas Limited to deploy Compressed Natural Gas stations across the country is another excellent example. The landmark collaboration will expand Nigeria’s CNG infrastructure, improve access to CNG, and accelerate the adoption of a cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel for buses, cars, and kekenapep nationwide.”
According to the President, “under this NNPC-NIPCO partnership, 35 state-of-the-art CNG stations will be constructed nationwide, including three Mother stations. Once fully operational, the stations will have the ability to service 200,000 vehicles daily,” he emphasized.
Similarly, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd, Mallam Mele Kyari, stated that the NNPC Ltd will leverage on the nation’s endowment of gas resources to power the nation’s industrial growth and stimulate ubiquitous job creation, adding that, through the project, the NNPC Ltd would be providing a huge boost to the national grid.
Kyari assured the President that NNPC Ltd will continue to execute power projects to enhance energy security, noting that several of such have already been completed. These, according to the NNPCL Group CEO, include the 50MW Maiduguri Power Plant, and the 900MW and 1,300MW power plants in Kaduna and Kano, respectively.
The colourful event was witnessed by many dignitaries and senior government officials, including the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Governor of Nasarawa State, represented by his Deputy, Royal Fathers, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, among others.
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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