ENUGU- THE Director General of Voice of Nigeria,
VON, Mr. Osita Okechukwu has said that President Mohammadu Buhari has been
fulfilling his campaign promises to the people of the south east geopolitical
zone.
Okechukwu said that one of such promises was the
resucitatioin of the coal industry which he said the federal government has
commenced the first phase to revamp Enugu Coal to generate electricity and
employment.
Okechukwu recalled that President Buhari had while
addressing an All Progressives Congress, APC, state rally in Enugu State on
January 10, 2015, at Okpara Square Enugu promised to revamp Enugu Coal to
generate electricity and employment for millions of unemployed youth in the
South-East geo-political zone.
The VON DG also recalled that in line with the
promise, President Buhari mandated the Minister of Mines and Steel Development,
Dr. Kayode Fayemi to facilitate the process for revamping of Enugu coal.
Sequel to Fayemi’s visit to Enugu recently, the
State Government on Thursday opened discussions with a South-African firm,
Simang Group as its technical partners towards the exploitation of the coal
deposits in the state for purposes of power generation.
Speaking at the occasion, Okechukwu said after a
careful evaluation of all the companies that indicated interest by the Minister
of Mines and Steel Development, Simang group was adjudged to partner with
Federal and State Governments to revamp Enugu coal.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Pan African Development
Corporation, Dr. Odilim Basil Enwegbara, said their intervention would
certainly change the narrative of electric power generation in Nigeria,
especially in the South East part of the country.
Enwegbara stated that as investors, they clearly
understood the challenges and are determined to commence operation as soon as
possible.
“We can convey the little resource into the much
needed electricity,” he said.
The chairman of the Simang Group, Mr. Steve Paddy,
said they intend to start with 600 megawatts of electricity and upscale it
subsequently.
An elated Governor Ugwuanyi said revamping of Enugu
coal will generate electricity which is an enabler that has multiplier effect
on the growth of the economy and thanked President Buhari for this laudable
programme.
The Governor said the move to revitalize the Enugu
coal industry was in line with the current power sector reforms initiated by
President Buhari.
Ugwuanyi added that the new move would help
“generate alternative and more vital sources of power generation in the
country.”
Credit: Vanguard
Credit: Vanguard
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