Politics
By Anthony Isibor
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged other states and cities in the country to follow after the example that has been set by Geometric Power and its driving force, Professor Bart Nnaji.
Obasabjo made the call through a speech read by his son, Seun Obasanjo, at the presidential commissioning of Geometric Power in Aba, Abia State, last week.
He disclosed that with Aba now primed to enjoy reliable, quality, and affordable electricity, quality and regular power supply will, by extension, benefit all Nigerians.
Congratulating the people of Aba, Geometric Power and Professor Nnaji for the 188MW gas-generating plant, which will contribute to the living and business experiences in Aba, Obasanjo noted that constant power supply can reduce the cost of doing business in Aba significantly and this will translate to cheaper products and services.
The former president went on a history lane to reveal that the 188 MW Geometric Power plant and the Aba Power Distribution Company was born out of the success of the 22MW Abuja Emergency Power Plant.
He explained that although Geometric Power is part of the product of the far-reaching reforms that his administration decided to carry out in the national economy after the 2003 general elections, the company in reality preceded the 2003 elections.
According to him, when his administration in year 2000 wanted to build an emergency power plant to provide power to the Central District of Abuja pending the completion of the Shiroro-2 Abuja power line by the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, two companies were final bidders for the 30MW plant after repetitive bids. “One was Scottish and one Nigerian”.
“The Nigerian company, Geometric Power, was led by Professor Bart Nnaji.
“I asked the then Minister of Power to share the project equally among the two companies. Geometric Power built a 22MW Emergency Power Plant in Abuja to ensure reliable delivery of the required 15MW to provide electricity to some critical parts of the Federal Capital Territory during the period. We felt it was in the overriding national interest to allow this team of young Nigerians to showcase their knowledge and skills rather than award the whole contract to a foreign firm.
“This gave birth to Geometric Power becoming the first indigenous Nigerian private power company. I am happy these Nigerians did a very good job. There was no power failure in the Presidential Villa, the NNPC Corporate Headquarters, the Central Bank of Nigeria Headquarters, the Federal Secretariat, and the entire Abuja Central Business District for the period they supplied electricity to these places.
“The success rekindled our belief that the private sector, not the government, should play a commanding role in the power sector,” he said.
He added that the choice to start with Aba was because of its reputation as the home of indigenous industrialization and given that the existing law invested in the Federal Government the sole power of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, his government reached a special agreement with Geometric Power to carve out Aba and the environs from the national electricity arrangement and make it operate as a kind of island.
“We thought that the success of this business model would be recommended across the country. Hence, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 made the electricity business in Nigeria private-sector driven.
He said that although the project had been delayed over the years due to government’s failure to respect the Federal Government’s MOU with Geometric Power in 2004, with substantive agreement in 2005, to make Aba a Ring-fenced Area, the state is now primed to enjoy reliable, quality, and affordable electricity.
“I came to learn that during the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, successor companies in November 2013. This action led to a loss of public confidence in the privatisation programme and many years were lost in the development of the Aba Ring-fenced Area.
“All that is behind us,” he added.
A.
-March 05, 2024 @ 19:31 GMT|
Tags: FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo Geometric Power in Aba Seun Obasanjo
