Shettima flags off ‘Light Up Nigeria Project’ in South-East

The Federal Government on Monday flagged off the ‘Light Up Nigeria Project’ in the South-East aimed at providing electricity across the country.

Flagging of the project in Enugu during the South East Business roundtable, Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the project was the reassurance of the federal government’s responsibility towards expansion of the country’s industrial sector.

He said, “We gather here today to embark on a transformative journey, the launch of the Light of Nigeria project in the southeastern states.

“What we are witnessing is the second launch of the strategic collaboration with the Nigeria Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and other invaluable partners.

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“We are sure of the direct pursuit of the priority set by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu and the project is a long-awaited solution to the power supply that undermines the economy,” he said.

Shettima, who is the Chairman, Board of Directors, NDPHC, said the intervention was a calculated endeavour to engineer the nation’s economy, serve as the oil wheel of industries and improve Nigeria’s power supply.

While describing Southeast as the “industrial power of the country”, the vice president said the project remained a critical priority of President Tinubu.

“Igbos are enterprising, practically mobile and educationally ambitious. You are the hope of the nation.

“I can assure you that President Tinubu means well for Nigeria and Ndigbo and Southeast; the southeast governors are among the best in the country,” he said.

Speaking, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the federal government would pursue the project to achieve its objectives, stressing that it would turn around power issues in the country and created jobs for Nigerians.

According to him, the project has been structured to resolve major challenges in the Nigeria electricity supply industry since the privatisation in 2013.

He regretted that in spite of the huge investment in the sector, power supply had not improved but kept deteriorating.

In a welcome address, Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State, said the project signalled a new dawn for power and industrialisation of the South East region.

Mbah commended the Federal Government and the NDPHC for coming up with the project to ramp up power supply to industrial clusters in the Southeast and implored industrialists of the region to fully key into it.

He pledged his government’s continued support to industrialists and other private investors across the state to complement the undeniable boost that the Light-up Nigeria Project would bring.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is expected to bring light to every part of Nigeria including the remotest area of the country. (NAN)