Minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government in diversifying its energy mix beyond the traditional sources of gas, oil and hydro to include nuclear and other renewable sources like solar, biomass and wind.
According to Fashola, all the procurement activities for the first nuclear power plant, with generation capacity of 1,200mw of power to the national grid by 2025 would be done as scheduled.
Fashola, who spoke in Abuja while receiving Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), commended the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission and its team of experts for the research works and human capacity building efforts in this specialized field.
The two sites selected by the Nigeria Atomic Energy commission are located at Geregu in Ajaokuta local government area of kogi-state and in Itu local government area of Akwa-Ibom State.
These projects are to be financed through a public-private participation policy for infrastructural development in the country, with the target to increasing their electricity generating capacity from 1200mw to 4,800mw by the year 2035.
The minister urged the Commission to leave no stone unturned in letting Nigerians know that nuclear energy is for peace and could be used for developmental purposes in engineering, medicine, environmental protection, civil security, agriculture and food security.
He challenged atomic energy experts to do more in the area of public enlightenment, as many Nigerians have limited knowledge about the use of nuclear technology for power.
“You must begin to break down the seemingly complex issues around nuclear power into simple terms and languages that our people can understand, and we must try to demystify issues around nuclear power in Nigeria”, he said, adding further that “the nation cannot afford to be left behind in the acquisition of appropriate nuclear technologies.”
On the part of the Nigerian government, Fashola said that a comprehensive nuclear law is with the parliament and would be enacted soon.
He also assured that the government would do all within its power to strengthen the capacity of the regulatory regime.
Speaking earlier, Amano told the minister that the IAEA regards Nigeria as an important partner, hence the Agency’s desire to transfer nuclear technology to the country, which it is convinced would not be used adversely.
He emphasized that IAEA, as a responsible international agency, wants Nigeria to use nuclear power for peace and development.
Giving the nation’s score card in nuclear activities, Erepamo Osaisai, chairman of the NAEC, said that Nigeria has made remarkable progress in the development and strengthening of activities in the diverse and specialized areas of nuclear energy, such as energy planning, peaceful use of nuclear for industrial, education, research works, as well as medicine and power generation.
He pledged that his Commission would continue to drive efforts in the area of technical know-how, manpower and capacity building for the overall development of nuclear technologies in Nigeria.
