The Federal Government has promised to resolve all the pending issues that have prevented Geometric Power/Aba Power Limited from turning on their plant that will enable residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, enjoy constant power supply.
The pledge was made by President Goodluck Jonathan, who was at the facility, Tuesday, after the commissioning of the first phase of Alaoji National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), also in Aba.
Jonathan promised that the Federal Government would not allow the investment to be a waste.
According to him, “This project is well planned and will change the face of Aba in terms of power supply. Aba is a city that is highly industralised with so many small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) that need stable power supply to grow better, and create more jobs for our people.”
“We need to resolve this matter; this kind of investment cannot be a waste. We must call the parties involved in the matter-government, Geometric and the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to resolve this issue”, Jonathan added.
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President Jonathan commended Bart Nnaji, chairman, Geometric Power/Aba Power Limited and former minister of Power, Pascal Dozie, chairman, Diamond Bank; Theodore Orji, governor, Abia State and other investors for their support towards the realisation of the project.
Earlier in his address, Bath Nnaji said: “The BPE double-sold Aba metropolis (which includes Aba and Ariaria Electricity Business Districts) to our company and to Interstate Electric as part of the sale of Enugu DISCO. This is in spite of the very fact that the agreement we have with the FGN clearly states that whenever there is privatization, our company has first right to purchase the facility in Aba, hence, our heavy investment in this project”.
Nnaji accused “powerful economic and political saboteurs within the system” to have denied President Jonathan’s administration “the golden opportunity of using the Aba metropolis electricity ring-fence as a shining example of your power reform agenda.”
“Mr. President’s visit will liberate the Aba Integrated Power Project and release the huge economic potential of an ‘Enyimba City’ (Aba) where electricity will be taken for granted,” he added.
Despite several reports affirming that Aba Business unit of Enugu DISCO belong to Geometric/Aba Power Limited, the firm grip of “vested interests” on the machinery of the government has continued to frustrate the project. According to Nnaji, about eight committees, including committees of the NCP, NERC, and Ministry of Power, have investigated the matter and came up with the same recommendation.
“There is no more need for another committee; all that it requires is your decision and firm action that will ensure the full implementation of their recommendation to sell Aba metropolis to Aba Power. We are therefore, pleading with you to take a decisive action today and rescue our company and the people of Aba from the shackles of deliberate man-made mischief”, Nnaji said.
The $500 million Geometric/Aba power plant has capacity to produce and distribute about 141 megawatts (MW) of electricity in its first phase, with new distribution lines, four new sub-stations and three rehabilitated sub-stations. Each plant is to produce 47 MW of power, supported by a 60 MVA per transformer. The power plant is to be powered by gas and so the company has built a gas plant at Shell company flow station at Owaza in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State and laid a pipeline spanning 27 kilometers to the power plant at Osisioma.
It will be recalled that on May 11, 2004, the Federal Government, the now defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Geometric Power Limited (GPL) entered into and executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which GPL was granted the exclusive right to construct a 3 x 35 MW open cycle gas turbine power plant and designated sub-stations in Aba, Abia State, which would generate electric power for distribution by Aba Power Limited (APL) to residential and commercial customers and to industrial clusters in a ring-fenced island in Aba.
The government, NEPA and APL executed a lease agreement on April 28, 2005 for the distribution of power to the ring-fenced residential and commercial consumers in Aba. By the terms of the agreement, NEPA assigned its right to distribute electric power in the ring-fenced area of Owerri-nta, Osisisoma, Ogbor Hill, Factory Road and Port Harcourt Road in Aba and also leased its distribution facilities within the contract area.
A supplementary agreement was made on August 31, 2006 between the Federal Government represented by the minister of power and steel, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Enugu Distribution Company (EDC) and Geometric Power Limited. EDC and TCN were substituted for NEPA as parties to the lease agreement of 2005 and assumed their respective obligations.
FRANK UZUEGBUNAM & GODFREY OFURUM
