Bart Nnaji, former minister of power , now chief executive officer of Geometric Power, has urged president Muhammadu Buhari to select competent hands to take charge of all institutions responsible for having sustainable power supply, just as he disclosed that his company is planning to upgrade the capacity of its plant from 500mw to 1,080mw, with the support of General Electric company (GE) of the US.
The former minister, who said the transition committee of President Muhammadu Buhari has had discussions with him on the way out of the current problem involving Geometric and Enugu Electricity Distribution companies, said the matter would resolved very soon to allow for the companies to resume power generation.
When active ,Geometric Power will supply electricity to Aba, a commercial hub in Eastern Nigeria where quality shoes, clothes and other goods are produced. Nnaji said government has to have an effective way of “ensuring that we don’t go back and forward for the power sector”, adding that “the power we have now must be sustainable and we should continue grow it.
“ This means the issue of generation, that is the fueling of the power must be assured and the evacuation of the power must be there.”
Nnaji further said government must put conscienscious and knowledgeable persons in key positions in its agencies which handle power, finance and justice among others.
Nnaji who spoke at the West Africa Power summit , organised by Flintxposures Nigeria Limited in Lagos, said regular gas supply to the power sector is critical because without it , the power sector would be crippled.
To ensure that the plan enjoys robust financial support, the company has appointed Standard Chartered Standard Bank as financial advisers for the first phase of the plant.
“We have a 1,080 megawatt project in partnership with General Electric. The power goes to the national grid. What we are doing is to build up power projects in this way,” he said.
He also said Geometric Power is in discussions with some Chinese, European and U.S. investors and expects financial close by year-end.
Olusola Bello
