BY AKUDORO GLORIA
The Federal Government has secured the backings of the United State to Nigeria’s solar power project for sustainable electricity to businesses and households in the country.
This support was disclosed by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Richard Mills during a meeting with the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu in Abuja.
The solar project will see Sun Africa LLC, an American company in the forefront of the push to meet Africa’s energy needs, providing vital power infrastructure to Nigeria.
Mr. Mills said his visit to the Power ministry was to know the status of the Sun Africa power project and support the Ministry’s engagement on the project. “ You have the support of the US government on the project”, Mr. Mills emphasized.
According to the statement by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, the Ambassador invited the Minister to an Energy summit scheduled to hold from 11 – 12 September, 2024 in Washington.
The Ambassador explained that the summit will make the Electricity Sector a major focus adding that the summit would comprise working groups engaged in strategic energy dialogue.
Speaking earlier, Chief Adelabu stated that the Ministry is geared towards adding value to local industries by providing them with adequate Power to enable them function better.
The Minister noted that though Nigeria has the population and the market which should be a strength to the nation, the reverse has been the case simply because Nigeria still imports about 80 percent of what it consumes which this has left the country with a lot of burden since the country has limited source of foreign exchange to fund the import dependence.
He further emphasized that the Ministry has prioritized its programmes into five key areas which are; Legislative support to decentralize the power sector; Policy Support to design a National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan that would be the manual for sectorial policies; appropriate tariff, to migrate the market and also upgrade the infrastructures; Infrastructure Provision that would be achieved through partnership with foreign investors and an Energy transition plan targetted towards achieving net zero emission.
Regarding the status of the Sun Africa Power Project, the Minister assured the visiting team that a lot is being done to secure approval for smooth operational take.