FEC approves N65.39b for 16 electricity projects

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Thursday, during an extraordinary meeting, approved 16 electricity projects at a cost N65,387,644,709, even as the Council used the event to attribute the prevalent unstable power supply in the country to the long years of neglect of infrastructure development in the sector.

Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed these while briefing State House Correspondents after the extraordinary FEC meeting, presided over by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Some of the projects costs are in both dollar and naira, euro and naira and only naira components, all put at N31,360,272,397; $65,606,420 and €15,152,651.

According to him, it is obvious that government is doing a lot to remedy the situation with more investments in the sector, which he said had manifested in the less system collapsed being witnessed in the country.

Aliyu, whose ministry presented 16 memoranda during the special council meeting, said the present administration has done more than any other to ensure that Nigerians enjoy improved supply of electricity.

While noting that the Federal Government has placed order for power equipment, the minister assured that Nigerians will soon see the outcome of the ongoing investments.

Aliyu maintained the present power generation in the country is about 5,000mw as he decried what he termed the weak transmission grid.

“Today, I presented to council 16 memos, which I seek for council’s approval and the council graciously approved all of them. At this point, let me say what these approvals will do to the nation’s electricity supply.
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“As we’re all aware, the major problem we’re having in the Electricity Supply Industry is to be able to evacuate sufficient electricity and distribute them. That is to say, we have a very weak transmission grid and distribution segment of the value chain.

“We may not be having much problem with generation. So, unless we’re able to strengthen the electricity grid, which is nationwide, and to expand, and to be able to evacuate, what the grid can take to consumers, we will have a lot of problems ahead of us.

“So, what we’re doing currently through various and several interventions is to be able to repair the grid by constructing new transmission lines, bringing in new equipments to replace the old ones at our substations. So, that will release more capacity to the distribution and leading to the customers.