Vice President Kashim Shettima flagged off the Light Up Nigeria project in Enugu on Monday as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to enhance energy supply to industrial clusters in the south-east region.
The project is a collaborative venture between the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) and its partners.
Shettima described the project as a transformative journey and a renewal of hope for industrialists and investors in the region.
According to him, the Light Up project is dear to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, assuring the determination of Tinubu’s administration to improve and accelerate power supply to industrial clusters in the South East.
The Vice President, while reassuring that the project was feasible, called on all stakeholders to put their hands on deck to ensure the success of the project.
“The long-awaited solution to epileptic power supply is finally here, and this project will help stabilize Nigeria because without power, there can be no industrialization.
“The economic fortune of Nigeria remains the critical concern of President Tinubu, as we believe that if the power sector works, Nigeria works too. Therefore, we must make the project work and make the South East work,” he said.
Governors of Anambra, Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi States took their turn to address the audience.
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Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, virtually speaking on behalf of his colleagues, stated that the Light-Up Nigeria Project signaled a new dawn for power and industrialization in the South-East region. He added that the initiative aligned with his administration’s disruptive approach to governance, underpinned by thinking outside the box.
Mbah, while commending the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for initiating the project to ramp up power supply to industrial clusters in the South East, urged industrialists in the region to fully embrace it and take advantage of the initiative to eliminate any bottlenecks they face regarding power availability.
The governor spoke at the South East Business Roundtable and the flag-off of the Light-up Nigeria Project – South East, by Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima in Enugu on Monday.
“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 the efficient dispatch of power to the largest consumers via bilateral sales agreements, which overrides the existing bulk purchase arrangements through NBET, leveraging 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 to improve enhanced productivity and generate jobs. This is critical in this day when 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.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd (NDPHC) Chiedu Ugbo, said the event provided an opportunity for the business community in the South-East Zone to interact with the Vice President of Nigeria.
He added that it marked the formal launch of the South-East phase of the strategic collaboration between NDPHC and other project parties to provide steady and reliable electricity supply to industrial and business clusters across Nigeria.
“We are honored to have you all here today. This event is part of a series of initiatives led by His Excellency, the Vice President, who serves as the Chairman of Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
“These initiatives demonstrate the commitment and determination of President Tinubu’s administration, working through NDPHC, to provide reliable and sustainable solutions to the electricity challenge in the country, starting with reliable and affordable supply to industries.
“The first event in this series took place on October 12, 2023, in Agbara, Ogun State, South-West Nigeria, where His Excellency engaged with the business community and committed to providing the required electricity to power businesses in industrial areas across the country through NDPHC.
“Since then, significant progress has been made on the Agbara Project, including identifying and signing key industrial customers, conducting engineering surveys, negotiating transaction agreements, and procuring OEM/EPC providers for the required transmission and distribution projects.
“Additionally, NDPHC has worked closely with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and FGN Power Company to conduct engineering surveys, identify sites, and acquire a mobile transmission substation for the project.
“TCN has approved the connection of the new substation to the national grid, and efforts are underway to deploy this fast-track transmission substation.
“Today’s event builds on the commitment made by His Excellency at Agbara and will be replicated in other geopolitical zones across the country.
“The Light up Nigeria project, which is the focus of today’s event, is led by Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC).
“NDPHC, a government-owned company, is responsible for implementing the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and operates a portfolio of gas thermal electricity generation assets in Nigeria.
“However, the optimal utilization of these assets has been hindered by technical challenges and market constraints.
“One major challenge is the lack of sufficient transmission and distribution infrastructure to transport power from the plants. To underscore this point, just last Friday, we received the Honourable Minister of Power at our 500MW Benin (Ihovbor) Power Plant.
“This power plant shares the transmission facilities with Azura-Edo Power plant next door with over 460 MW. The two plants together can generate over 900MW. The Honourable Minister witnessed first-hand the level of underutilization of the NDPHC generation plant as a result of the transmission constraint.
“However, the Transmission Company of Nigeria is now working assiduously towards resolving that constraint in that power plant.
“Another challenge stems from financial difficulties in the electric power sector here in Nigeria, leading to inadequate payments by distribution companies and Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading company (NBET) to generation companies like NDPHC. The huge indebtedness to the generation companies affects the ability of the generation companies to pay for gas supply leading to gas supply shortage and the resulting low generation.” The NDPHC boss stated.
Ugbo recalled, “On 31st January 2024, the Honourable Minister of Power visited our Olorunsogo Power Plant (near Papalanto in Ogun State and Omotosho Power Plant near Ore in Ondo State) and saw first-hand the extent of gas supply constraint to the two power plants which put together have over 1000MW installed capacity.
At a recent press conference, the Honourable Minister of Power, rightly identified this severe liquidity crisis as a major impediment to electricity supply in the country with over N1.3 trillion owed to generation companies. NDPHC alone is owed close to N200bn out of that.
“These challenges of lack of sufficient transmission and distribution infrastructure to transport electricity from the plants and the sector market liquidity crisis have resulted in gross
and then