The Federal Government has commended the investments made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the power sector, News About Nigeria reports.
The Minister of Power, Adedayo Adelabu, stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s News Night programme on Tuesday.
He noted that the former President spent $8 billion in the nation’s electricity sector, as opposed to the $16 billion being reported, adding that it was a good move by the former President to invest the money back then in the construction of power plants across the nation.
He maintained that the power plants built under Obasanjo’s administration are still visible, stating that seven out of the 10 were completed and enough to serve the nation.
“While I will not sit here and give you facts about what transpired because I was not in the sector then, I can tell you that the 10 Nigerian Integrated Power Projects under President Olusegun Obasanjo, are there for us to see. And I’m aware they spent over $8 billion out of the so-called $16 billion that people bandied around. We can see those plants today.
“We have two in Olorunsogo, that is, Papalanto in Ogun State. We have two in Omotosho, close to Ore in Ondo State. We have one in Benin. We have an Egbema that has not been completed. We have it in Calabar. We have about 10 of them. I know seven of them were completed, and they are under the management of the Nigeria Delta Power Holding Company today. They have a capacity totaling about 5,000 MW,” he said.
He, however, lamented that the benefits of the investments made by Obasanjo have not been utilised, noting that some of the power plants are not working to capacity due to gas constraints.
He therefore noted that if the country wants to double its electricity supply, it will have to start with its existing capacity before talking about establishing new generation companies.
