…Mbah says fixing power will fix other sectors
Vice President Kassim Shettima has said that Nigeria will fully work when the south east performs optimally in industrialization with adequate power supply.
He equated the region with the Jews, whom he said are “practically mobile, economically enterprising and educationally ambitious.”
The Vice President disclosed that he rejected a proposal that suggested to cut off the south east from electricity supply due to a debt profile, noting that President Bola Tinubu means well for the nation, noting that the south east and the Governors of the zone are the bests among others.
The Vice President made the remarks during the launch of South East Business Roundtable “Light up Nigeria Program”, conducted by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, in Enugu, on Monday.
According to Vice President Shettima, “We have to make the South East work; we’re targeting the south east for a two million job for women and the youths. We’re proceeding to Abia state to commission the power station built by the elder statesman, Prof Bart Nnaji and we will also commission some road projects and back to Enugu to commission the Smart school because education is the greatest gift you can give a generation.”
On his part, the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, said the Light-Up Nigeria Project signaled a new dawn for power and industrialisation of the South East region, saying other sectors would fall in place once power challenge is fixed.
Mbah, while commending the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for coming up with the project to ramp up power supply to industrial clusters in the South East, enjoined industrialists in the region to key-in fully and take advantage of the initiative to remove any bottlenecks faced regarding power availability.
He said Light-up Nigeria Project aligned with his administration’s disruptive approach to governance underpinned by thinking outside the box.
“The Light up Nigeria Project Today is, in my view, 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 overides 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 improve enganced 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.
He pledged his government’s continued support to industrialists and other private investors across the state to complement the undeniable boost that the Light-up Nigeria Project would bring.
Pacesetter/Vanguard