President Goodluck Jonathan has commissioned the multi million naira Geregu power plant II which will generate 434 megawatts to boost electricity supply nationwide and also improve economic activities in the country, in line with the determination of the present administration to reposition the power sector in the country.
President Jonathan disclosed that with the intervention of NIPP in power generation, Nigeria will be generating additional 5000 megawatts on regular basis after commissioning the remaining power plant stations before mid- 2014.
The President made this known while speaking at the commissioning of Geregu power plant II at Geregu in Ajaokuta local government area of Kogi state, where he also stated that the generation of electricity supply is very crucial to economic activities and over all development in Nigeria.
The President was received at the Geregu plant site by the Minister of Power Prof Chinedu Nebo, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice Mohammed Adoke, Minister for Petroleum Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Governor of Kogi state Captain Idris Wada, and his Deputy Yomi Awoniyi, Governor of Benue state Mr. Gabriel Suswan, and traditional rulers.
While giving the project brief for the Geregu II power station, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer NDPHC, Mr. James Abiodun Olotu stated that the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) was conceived in 2004 to fast track generation, transmission and distribution capacity of power supply in the country, a sector which he noted was at the point of collapse and had to be urgently aided with coordinated government investment in all areas of the supply chains.
The Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo in his address stated that the celebration today was the commitment of the president’s effort to revitalize the power sector. He pointed out that the country is currently generating 1600 megawatts of power, adding that with the intervention of NIPP programme, the issue of outage and shortage of power will soon be a thing of the past.
The state governor Captain Idris Wada commended the president for commissioning the Geregu power plant II with 434 megawatts, stating that the commissioned plant will tackle the challenges of the power sector. He also noted that the commissioning will be of great benefit to the people of Kogi state and Nigeria in general, emphasizing that power generation and distribution has topped the federal government’s agenda.
President Jonathan explained that when he came on board as president, the NIPP project was abandoned for two years following litigation that greeted the deduction from excess crude oil, but with the commitment of the present administration, the project was revived and 10 NIPP stations contract was awarded across the federation.
He also noted that the project is jointly owned by the three tiers of government, federal, state, and local governments.
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