Jonathan Commissions Multi Billion Naira Geregu Power Plant

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday commissioned the 434 mega watts (mw) in Gereju Kogi State.

He declared that the power sector must be fixed for the nation to become fully industrialised.

The president said: “If Nigeria must be industrialised, we must fix power.”

He recalled presenting the certificates to core owners of the Power Holding Company (PHCN) Limited last Monday, assuring that power supply will soon become stable across the nation.

Jonathan confirmed that the implementation of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) was stalled following a legal suit against the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

He advised that the three tiers of government should own shares in the projects.

Jonathan said, upon commissioning, the 10 green field power projects, which will be privatised next year, will generate additional 5,000mw to the national grid.

Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, appealed to the president to approve the state’s request to become a free enterprise zone.

The governor also pleaded with Jonathan to resuscitate the Ajaokuta Steel Company, noting that with the proximity of the two entities, the steel plant should benefit from the power plant.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said that NIPP’s contribution to the national grid on regular basis will be 1,600 mw.

While stressing that the Geregu 2 station will change the electricity equation in Nigeria, he noted that with the phase 1 and 2, Geregu has become “power metropolis.”

The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHDC), Mr. James Olotu, stated that Abuja and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory will be enjoying the benefits of the project by the end of October.

Olotu noted that the generation component of NIPP was conceived as a complete gas-to-power package that will harness the under utilised natural gas reserves in the Niger Delta region to produce the much needed electricity for the nation’s economic growth.

He said that apart from the abundance of natural gas as fuel, gas turbine power plants have the shorter construction periods and best suited for the emergency intervention in power generation capacity improvement as conceived by the government.