Minister of State Power, Goddy Jedy Agba and His Senegalese counterpart the minister of Energy Resources Aissatou Sophie Gladima at the Energy Round Table in Abuja
Nigerian minister of state Power Goddy Jedy Agba has said the country needs more funding support from international partners and donor agencies to boost the off-grid and renewable energy sub-sector to industrialise Nigeria.
The minister who spoke at the international energy round table conference between the government of Nigeria and that of Senegal stated that Nigeria and other West African Countries have to come together to develop the energy and power sector to rank among the topmost developed power Nations in the World.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Assistant on media Mr. Ofem Uket, the Minister maintained that the West African Power Pool designed to lighten every home in the sub-region is strategic enough to unlock the economic potentials of member countries.
He declared that President Muhammadu Buhari has a deliberate strategy to develop the power sector in Nigeria, using domestic and international power sector models to ensure a regular and steady supply of electricity in Nigeria. According to the minister, the Presidential directives to ensure that six million homes are provided with electricity meters under the National mass metering programme has been successful and ongoing.
In her presentation, at the round table conference held at the ministry of power, the minister of Energy Resources Senegal, Mrs Aissatou Sophie Gladima said she was in Nigeria to meet with the Nigerian minister of state Power to seek collaboration in areas of competence and needs in the power sector to strengthen the energy sector in Senegal.
She stated that her country has achieved 30 percent of renewable energy and working hard to meet its target of making Senegal a reliably clean energy state in Africa. She called on the Nigerian government to strengthen ties and economic links with Senegal to which the two countries have strategic institutions in common.
The representative of the managing director Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN, Engr. Joseph Ciroma disclosed that currently, under the West African Power Pool Project, TCN is constructing 875 transmission lines to link countries like Niger, Togo, Guinea, Burkina Faso among others. He expressed satisfaction at the progress of work in the transmission lines to feed the distribution companies.
