NIPPs gulped $8.2bn under my administration – Jonathan

The President, who spoke  weekend    at the commissioning of 750MW Olorunsogo II Power Station in Olorunsogo, Ogun State,disclosed that his administration coughed out the fund from the  Excess Crude Account (ECA).
 The generation plant was constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and it is one of the 10 National Independent Power Plants constructed by the company.
The President said the plants will be privatised through transparent exercise and the proceeds will be re-invested to boost transmission networks and upgrade other identified projects,” he stated.
He said “Private Sector controlled-Power sector will be mid-wived and the interface between government and private sector will be sealed properly and Nigerians will take power for granted like in other countries.”
 He said that stability in power sector will stimulate Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs). “We want to stabilise power sector to stimulate SMEs because our industries cannot survive on generators,” he said.
Speaking, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, noted that all the NIPPs that were conceived in 2004 have been moribund until President Jonathan gave them the midas touch.
President Goodluck Jonathan also commissioned 220 megawatts (MW) capacity plants belonging to Egbin Generation Company Plc.
During the commissioning in Lagos on Saturday, Jonathan assured Nigerians that inadequate power supply will soon be a thing of the past.