Federal government has pledged that to ensure improved electricity supply to industrial areas nationwide to reduce the huge cost being incurred by manufacturers.
With particular mentioning of the Ota-Agbara industrial Estate in the Ado-Odo/Otaocal local government area of Ogun State, the federal government assured investors that it remains committed to improving power supply to that industrial cluster through the ongoing power project being handled by the Niger Delta Power Development Company (NDPHC).
Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the assurance yesterday when he addressed manufacturers and members of the business class at the Agbara Business Roundtable held in Agbara, Ado-Odo-Ota local government area.
The event was to launch an initiative to ensure dedicated power supply to industrial clusters across the country, using the Agbara Industrial Estate as a pilot project.
While emphasising that Nigeria holds tremendous opportunities for both investors and the citizens, the VP assured said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration would “supply your power needs with no strings attached.”
He said it was embarrassing for Nigerians to hear that the Agbara Industrial Cluster relies on other sources of power supply outside the national grid, adding that the federal government through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) remains committed to ensuring that clusters like Agbara benefit from a cheaper means of generating power in their factories.
“I am here to reassure the business community that we mean business. Be rest assured, we are going to supply your power needs with no strings attached. We are giving power to Togo, I think we are giving 100 megawatts to Togo, and some of these nations are not even paying us. Why can’t we give to businesses that will pay us? It is just simple arithmetic; it is a matter of economics.”
Shettima, however, charged the staff of NDPHC to double their efforts by ensuring the delivery of the Agbara Industrial Cluster power program in three to four months.
“It is all about advocacy, it is about people believing in you and I have the confidence of my boss, such that I can talk authoritatively. He is very passionate about the Nigerian project. He is very committed to repositioning this nation”.
In his remarks, the Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun said without electricity, all infrastructure provided for the use of the people of the state and the country as a whole would be in vain.
Governor Abiodun, who disclosed that his administration has established additional industrial clusters, said that without stable and reliable power, all the initiatives would be in vain.