The Federal Government has reassured investors in the nation of the Tinubu-led administration’s intention to guarantee a sufficient supply of power throughout the nation, particularly in industrial clusters.
During the Agbara Business Roundtable, held in Agbara, Ado-Odo-Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State on Thursday, Vice President Kashim Shettima offered the assurance, stating that the nation contains tremendous prospects for both investors and citizens.
The purpose of the occasion was to kick off a project to provide a dedicated power supply to industrial clusters across the country, beginning with Agbara Industrial Estate.
Shettima described the Agbara Cluster’s reliance on sources of power other than the national grid as “embarrassing,” adding that the Federal 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 also serves as the Chairman of the NDPHC Board of Directors, has vowed that the Agbara Industrial Estate will have a consistent power supply within the next four months.
“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 instructed the NDPHC employees to exert twice as much work to complete the Agbara Industrial Cluster power program in three to four months.
Shettima mentioned President Tinubu’s resolve to provide electricity for 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 governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, stated in his remarks that all infrastructure built for the benefit of the state’s residents and the nation at large would be useless without power.
While revealing that his administration had created more industrial clusters, Governor Abiodun stated that all of the measures would be ineffective without steady and dependable power.
“We believe that such initiatives like this speak to ensuring the sustainability of competitive industrialization 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.
The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, remarked that securing a sufficient supply of power in the nation is difficult due to Nigerians’ attitudes. He was represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.
Hamzat was disappointed that the nation could only send 4,000 Megawatts out of the approximately 13,000 Megawatts available.
“The issue of our power is complex and why it is complex is because of bad behavior among all of us, the stakeholders, the distribution companies, generating companies.
“For me, the biggest challenge that we see in our country 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 country. 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.
According to Mr. Bayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, the occasion was a turning point in efforts to strengthen one of the nation’s industrial landscape’s pillars.
In the federal government’s light-up campaign, which aims to provide dependable energy to industrial and heavy user clusters around the nation, he pointed out that the project is just the first of many.
Adelabu noted that Agbara is a cluster where industries thrive, dreams are forged, and opportunities are endless, and he added that the ambitious project, when finished, will improve the industrial estate’s power supply by ensuring a consistent and uninterrupted supply of electricity to meet the needs of the industries.
Chiedu Ugbo, MD/CEO of NDPHC, stated earlier in his welcoming speech that the occasion represents the current administration’s commitment to using NDPHC to provide a steady and dependable supply of electricity to business enterprises.
The corporation, he continued, is the sole government-owned business in charge of carrying out the government’s integrated power initiative, which aims to increase electricity production.
According to Ugbo, the initiative’s main goal was to provide a regular, dependable, and affordable supply of electricity from power plants around the nation to the huge industrial and business clusters in Agbara and across the nation.
He mentioned that the NDPHC has built eight power plants, totaling roughly 4,000 Megawatts, effectively.
