•Promises Brighter Moments Soon
A FIRM assurance came from President Goodluck Jonathan that Nigeria would soon overcome the problem of epileptic power supply being currently experienced.
Jonathan, while commissioning the 220 megawatts rehabilitated gas turbine at Egbin power station in Lagos, noted that his administration’s power sector reforms was beginning to yield the desired results.
For instance, the President remarked that since he launched the power sector roadmap in 2010 in Lagos, the sector has witnessed remarkable progress with several moribund power stations and plants being rehabilitated while others having their capacities boosted.
For the Egbin power station, the President expressed delight that with the recent rehabilitation, the station can now contribute 1320 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
“With this rehabilitation, the station has been restored to its full capacity of1320 megawatts for the first time in the history of the facility. Since we launched the roadmap in 2006, I have been encouraged by the progress we have made. And this is part of our transformational efforts in the power sector.
“We are laying a sound foundation for a reliable and sustainable electricity industry. We are diversifying our energy sources. That is why we are exploring the prospects offered by coal and other sources. We can’t claim to be the largest economy in Africa without a stable power industry,” the President said.
Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo commended the President for revitalising most of the power facilities in the country in line with his promise to deliver stable power supply to Nigerians.
He said under Jonathan, the power sector has not only been successfully privatised, it has also contributed significantly to the growth of the economy especially in the area of job creation.
According to the minister, for 16 years, the power sector under National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) never employed any engineer while under the present transformation, 2000 engineers have been employed.
He described the event as a celebration of privatisation.
