Nigeria: Shettima to Investors - We'll Supply Your Power Needs With No Strings Attached

13 October 2023

Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, assured investors in the country of the determination of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to ensure adequate power supply across the country, especially in industrial clusters, with no strings attached.

The Vice President, who gave the assurance during the Agbara Business Roundtable, held in Agbara, Ado-Odo-Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, said the country holds tremendous opportunities for not only investors but also the people.

Shettima, who spoke of the commitment of President Tinubu to make power available to the entire country, said: "I am here to reassure the business community that we mean business. I want to give you my word and my word is my bond, if you need 200 Megawatts, 300 Megawatts, we can give it to you.

"Be assured that 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.

"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, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State said without electricity, all infrastructure provided for the use of the people of the state and the country would be in vain.

Governor Abiodun said: "We believe that such initiatives like this speak to ensuring the sustainability of competitive industrialization and one must not but salute this initiative.

"We as a state have gone ahead besides this Agbara Cluster, we have five other clusters."

Also speaking, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat said: "The issue of our power is complex and why it is complex is because of bad behaviour among all of us, the stakeholders, the distribution companies, generating companies.

"For me, the biggest challenge that we see in our country now is public commentary. We have a lot of people that go out there to just say things, that demean our institutions. That is the biggest challenge."

On his part, the Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu noted that Agbara is a cluster where dreams are forged, industries thrive and where opportunities are limitless, adding that the ambitious endeavour when completed will bolster the power supply within the industrial estate by ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted flow of electricity to meet the demands of the industries.

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