…Sector Poised To Drive Industrialisation – Minister
By ABAH SUNDAY, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has officially transferred operations of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant to a concessionaire by name Penstock Limited.
Vice President Kashim Shettima disclosed this on Tuesday during the first meeting of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for the year 2024 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha in a statement on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, said, the move was expected to boost Nigeria’s power generation capacity and contribute significantly to meeting the country’s growing energy demands.
Shettima also disclosed plans by the federal government to recapitalize and restructure the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to bolster Nigeria’s agricultural sector and achieve national food security.
The VP noted the potential of BOA to play a central role in achieving national food security, citing its extensive branch network across all senatorial districts in the country.
He however expressed concern about the bank’s current practices, particularly its tendency to disburse unsustainable loans.
Senator Shettima advocated modernisation of the BOA, emphasising the need to leverage technology and upgrade branch facilities, urging that embracing modern financial systems would enable the bank to function more effectively and fulfill its vital role in supporting agricultural development.
He further alluded to the potential of the Green Imperative Project, proposing its integration with the BOA’s restructuring plans.
“For me, we can marry the Green Imperative Project while we are going to bring in assorted agricultural machinery. Every farmer should be given a tractor, harvester, and other necessary machinery. We can take in the latest advances in science and technology and make it possible to track these items so that divergence can be minimized.
“We have no business being poor. Nigeria must attain national food security. Let us leverage science and technology. There are three or four states that can feed the whole of this country,” the VP said.
Currently, a committee led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, is finalising a report on the BOA’s recapitalization and restructuring, while key decisions have been made, and further updates are expected soon.
At the meeting, the NCP announced significant progress in the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant (ZHPP) concession, including the official transfer of the plant’s operations to Penstock Limited.
The Concession Agreement was signed on December 13, 2023, by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Penstock Limited.
In another development, Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu on Tuesday, while making an opening remarks at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (“NERC”) 4th Seminar for Judges, assured Nigerians that the sector is capable of being the driver of the country’s industrialisation.
Themed “Reforms in the Nigerian Electricity Sector Towards Sustainability,” the seminar is part of the broader vision of the Commission and NJI to engage the members of the judiciary on important developments in the sector.
Adelabu, who lauded the initiative of the Commission at the seminar, said it was geared towards building the capacity of the Nigerian bench towards achieving the desired objective of predictable, clear, and logical judicial precedent in matters affecting the power sector.
Electricity according to him, is critical determinant of a modern society, saying its availability is a key differentiator of success amongst countries, with the leading 1st world countries being able to produce it in abundance as a driver for industrialisation; while the 3rd world countries grapple with making this resource available to meet their development objectives.
Lauding the judiciary on its interventional role, the minister noted that the Nigerian judiciary has helped NESI with notable pronouncements, a situation which according to him has helped in attracting private investment in the power sector.
pointing out the importance of the bench to the smooth running of the industry, the Minister said, “In the financial services industry, we say that investments will only follow certainty; and there appears to be no greater means of providing certainty than predictable, clear, and logical judicial precedent that is dispensed by a competent bench.”