The Federal Government is to support Jidet Nigeria Limited, an indigenous firm, to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from coal from its proposed $1.5bn power plant.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said this in Abuja when senior officials of the firm visited the ministry to seek the government’s support.
Nebo, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Access to Power and Renewable Energy, Mr. Albert Okorogu, stated that Nigeria had limited supply of electricity and would welcome any initiative that would increase the power generation capacity.
He said, “We have a limited supply of electricity; the meagre amount of power we have in Nigeria is not sufficient. So, anything Nigeria can tap into to generate electricity is a welcome initiative. This is a very good idea and the Ministry of Power welcomes it because it will add to what we have already, which is a limited capacity.
“They (the company) have discovered coal in some unusual places that we haven’t really looked into and that is wonderful. That they have gone out on their own to find and explore coal in places that we didn’t look at is good.”
The minister said the firm had discovered large deposits of coal in Edo State, stressing that the Federal Government was not aware that the country had such volume of coal in the state.
Nebo said, “If you look at our coal map, we have never actually mapped Edo as having coal. So, having found coal in that state is a welcome idea. The Ministry of Power will do everything within its power to assist this company in ensuring that it moves from mining coal to using it to generate electricity.
“I like the idea that they have come here to seek assistance and I believe the ministry will do all it can to make this work.”
Asked if the ministry would be able to do much since the present government only had a few more days before it hands over to the incoming administration, Okorogu said, “You talk as if the buck stops here; this is continuity.”
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