FEC Okays N10.48bn, $27.09m For Ministry Of Power To Improve Electricity Supply

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved contracts worth N10.48 billion and $27.09 million for the Federal Ministry of Power as the government presses ahead with efforts to tackle the epileptic electricity supply in the country.

The council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, similarly approved a contract for the engagement of transaction advisors for consultancy services for the concession of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Complex, Itakpe, both in Kogi State.

Addressing correspondents after the week’s virtual FEC meeting, Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said the three memoranda presented to Council, including one seeking variation for an old contract, got the nod of the cabinet for the purchase of major electricity transmission equipment.

He said: “I presented three memos today, the first one was a variation of a subsisting contract for the Katampe to National Stadium, 132 direct circuit line which is about 90 per cent completed. The contractor sought the variation because of some delays on the project. All the necessary due processes have been followed and the variation approved by FEC today is N201,949,811.00.”

The Minister added that the council approved two contracts for the procurement two sets of power transformers and the construction of a transmission line in Kebbi State.

Speaking on this, he said: “The second approval was for the design, manufacture and supply of two 60 MVA 132/33 KV power transformers. The cost has two components; the offshore is $1,294,447 then the onshore is N16,485,000.

“The third approval is a contract to also design, construction and installation of a 260-kilometre transmission line from Birnin-Kebbi, through Zuru to Yauri in Kebbi State. Also, the cost has two components; the offshore is $25.8 million and the onshore is N10.2 billion,” he explained.

He expressed confidence that the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) is on course to deliver on incremental power supply, despite the setbacks with the Siemens power deal and reported sabotage on power infrastructure.

Also speaking, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who reported on the approval granted by the Council for the Ajaokuta and Itakpe companies, said the contract, worth N853.25 million, is about appointing contractors that would run the process of concessionning the companies.

Mohammed spoke on behalf of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, saying that the Council’s decision was in response to one of the two memoranda presented by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.

He added: “Council approved the engagement of transaction advisors for consultancy services for the concession of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and also the National Iron ore mining complex in Itakpe in favour of mrses CPCS Transform Consortium in the sum of N853,266, 644.4 inclusive of 7.5percent VAT.

“I am sure we are all familiar with the story of the history of the Ajaokuta Steel complex. The contract was awarded in 1979 to a Russian company called TPE. By the end of 1983, the contract had reached advanced stage, regrettably, since then it has been suffering and by 1994, TPE demobilised from the site and 1996, the contract was determined.

“Subsequently, various administrations have tried to revive the Ajaokuta steel complex without much success. However, you will recall that Mr President was on a state visit to Russia on the 22nd and 24th of October 2019 and here it was resolved that the Ajaokuta steel complex which the Federal Government has made massive investment must be resuscitated.

“Regrettably COVID-19 has slowed down the efforts of the ministry of mines to bring this to fruition. However, today, the council has approved the award of the contract not just for Ajaokuta but for the iron ore in Itakpe.

“We believe that with this development, we would have made significant step in bringing back to life both the Ajaokuta and the iron ore company in Etakpe and move forward the industrial revolution of Nigeria because when these two complexes begin to function, then, not only are we going to save money in terms of foreign exchange, but we are going to see a lot of industrial development and also technology transfer.”

Mohammed further stated that FEC also approved revised fees payable for Mining Engineering and Geoscientific Services, which set benchmarks for professionals in the mining sector to enable them to get fair remuneration for their services.

Minister of Science and Technology, Ognonnaya Onu, in his remarks, announced FEC’s approval of Nigeria’s Revised Energy Policy (2022).

He explained that the revision of the policy became imperative to enable Nigeria to take optimum advantage of all the available sources of energy in the country.

Onu observed that Nigeria has abundance of crude oil, fossil fuels, and variants of renewal energy (solar, hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass), in commercial quantities, which he said will greatly improve the energy supply in the country.

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