FG approves $2m for West African Power Pool

The Federal Government has approved Nigeria’s contribution of $2 million to the 2020 budget of the the West African Power Pool (WAPP).

The Minister of Power, Engr. Saleh Mamman, announced this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

WAPP was created by a decision at the 22nd Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government in 1999.

At the 29th Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Niamey, in 2006, it adopted the Articles of Agreement for WAPP organization and functions.

Saleh said participation in the regional market would generate immediate foreign exchange for Nigeria as oil revenue is dwindling.

He said: “The pool is about trying to have coordination and synergy among West African countries. This decision has been taken by ECOWAS. It’s for the generation of electricity throughout the region so as to have a robust, constant, and steady power supply. It’s just like national grid we have here in Nigeria. Now, we want to have regional grid. It means in case there is a failure in one country, another can supplement. The $2 million is a contribution.”
In his contribution, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said: “The West African Power Pool is a poll made up of all West African countries because of transmission of power. Each country will produce its own power. But there is a line that runs through the whole of West Africa. And each member state contributes annually to the cost of power transmission across pool. The consequence is that if there is a problem in one country, it could inadvertently affect other countries. So, this was created in 1999 by the Authorities of the West African Heads of State.
“So, it’s like a common pool and every country has its own section. And our own contribution for this year is $2million. It’s not as if we are giving $2million to ECOWAS, no, no, no. We are simply paying our own contribution for the transmission to other African countries and vice versa.”