I read with consternation a report on page 8 of The PUNCH of
November 24, credited to Senator Chris Ngige and titled, “Obasanjo
power plants, wasteful”. The report quoted from a talk delivered by
Senator Ngige on “Power Supply in Nigeria”, during the First Judiciary
Day of the Student Union Government of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
Awka. Since the Senator has so far not refuted the report, it can be
taken that he had not been misquoted. Before the falsehood that Ngige
peddled on that occasion begins to take root, I believe that it is
necessary to lay bare the facts on the power plants established during
the period he referred to and ensure that the public is not misinformed
and misled.
Ngige
was quoted to have said that “the power plants built by the government
of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 to 2003 were wasteful ventures”
and “that the cost of securing and laying pipe(s) to carry gas to the
power projects at Papalanto, Olorunsogo, Geregu, and Omotosho and other
places was enough to build more of such power plants and fund
transmission and distribution projects”. He followed up with the
insinuation that the siting of the power plants was based on “political
considerations”.
I
am constrained to say that the facts that pertain to the four plants
established during the period and which can be verified by all, clearly
show that nothing can be farther from the truth than Ngige’s assertion
above. The siting of the plants namely, Papalanto (Olorunsogo),
Omotosho, Geregu and Afam V were based on sound technical consideration
and the prices at which the plants were procured were highly competitive
by global standards and are the cheapest Nigeria has ever procured viz:
1)
The Papalanto and Omotosho plants were located less than five
kilometres to the existing Escravos – Lagos Gas Pipeline making the cost
of connecting them to gas less than $5million each.
2)
The Geregu plant was located less than eight kilometres from the
existing Pipeline that takes gas to the Ajaokuta Steel plant.
3) The AfamV Plant was located within the existing Afam Power Plant and therefore did not need any special pipe laying.
4)
The distance of all the four power plants from existing major
transmission lines is less than two kilometres making the cost of
connection to the National Grid infinitesimal.
5)
The turnkey costs of all the four power plants were less than $500 per
megawatt which was verified by the Due Process Office to be globally
very competitive. The benchmark price used for the NIPP projects which
came up later was more than $1000 per megawatt.
6)
All the four plants were completed within 24 months from contractors’
mobilisation, making them the fastest of deliveries in the history of
Nigeria. AfamV was commissioned within 12 months!
7)
A concessionary funding programme was negotiated with the Chinese Exim
Bank for the Papalanto and Omotosho power plants through which Nigerian
government paid only 35 per cent of their cost for the plants to be
delivered. The balance of 65 per cent will be paid over a seven year
period at six per cent interest rate and two years moratorium. The idea
was that after paying 35 per cent and the plant was completed within two
years, the income from generated power would be used to pay up the
balance of 65 per cent without recourse to the Nigerian treasury!
The
facts above are all verifiable on the ground and in the books of the
Power Holding Company of Nigeria. What is perhaps intriguing is that
Ngige, a former State Governor, presently the Deputy Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Power and who was a contractor to NEPA
There
is no doubt that we have problems in the Nigerian power sector and that
all hands must be on deck to clear all bottlenecks on our way to end
the needless pains that the mismanagement in the sector has caused us.
There is also some merit in identifying periods and people that have
contributed adversely to the mess. In doing this however, we must
endeavour to tell the truth and ensure that we do not allow other
sentiments to becloud our judgement. This will not allow us to learn and
thereby arrive at how best to develop and maintain an efficient power
supply system in Nigeria.
With
all due sense of modesty, the period and projects that Senator Ngige is
trying to deride were golden in our collective efforts at getting
stable power for Nigeria. Between June 2000 and December 2002, our
electricity generation capacity increased from 1425 to 4300 megawatts.
Both the transmission and distribution subsections were strengthened
such that peak load (delivered) for the first time in the history of
Nigeria surpassed the 2400 megawatts maximum in 2002. The establishment
of the Papalanto (335MW), Omotosho (335MW), Geregu (410MW), Afam V
(276MW), Enron IPP(280MW) andKwale IPP (450MW) were added during the
same period with the view of increasing the 4300MW generation capacity
to about 6000MW. That was also the period when the Power Sector Reform
Bill was crafted and submitted to the National Assembly to pave way for a
more efficient deregulated power sector.
Finally,
we concede to Ngige the right to pass his judgment on Obasanjo, his
administration of Nigeria when he was in power and of course, the former
President’s politics. I am sure that Obasanjo can deal with that on his
own and I am not in anyway standing brief for him. Ngige has however
chosen a very wrong Obasanjo project to bash in his Awka lecture. Some
of us who worked conscientiously with Obasanjo to visibly move the power
sector forward between 2000 and 2003 will not allow anyone to rubbish
our sweat and the gains that Nigeria made during that period.
•Dr. Agagu, CON (Former Governor of Ondo State and Minister of Power and Steel, 2000 – 2002)
Punch Nigeria
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