January 11, (THEWILL) – Benue state governor Samuel Ortom has said President Muhammad Buhari has performed very well in the area of upgrading electricity supply across the country in the past six years in office.
The governor who made the disclosure when the Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu alongside Minister of State for Power, Mr Godwin Agba and other top management staff of the ministry paid him a courtesy visit at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi on Tuesday.
According to him, compared to what was on ground in 2015, there is improvement in the power distribution and will have to commend the present administration for giving attention to the power sector.
“Federal government has done well, but there is still room for improvement. South Africa without our population is having about 40,000 megawatts of electricity which is why industrialists are investing there”.
“The number one problem of Nigeria is energy and light which is also captured in the Bible. So, light is very critical to the development and survival of industrialisation”. He said.
Governor Ortom also advocated for financial contributions from the three tiers of government to support power sector improvement for the benefit of all Nigerians.
He declared the readiness and commitment of his administration to contribute its quota towards protecting and assisting all federal establishments operating in the state to deliver their mandate for the benefit of all.
Earlier, the Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, said the Federal Government led by Muhammadu Buhari was working assiduously to end epileptic power supply in Nigeria.
According to him, the Ministry of Power was constructing a 40 Megawatts Electricity Plant from Kashimbila in Taraba state to Yandev in Gboko local government area in Benue state.
“The project is in two phases; phase one is from Kashimbila to Yandev and phase two is from Yandev to Makurdi. Phase one is completed while phase two will be completed within six months”. He declared.
Speaking further, Engr Aliyu said, the Ministry was constructing switching substations in Ugba, Anyiin in Logo local government, Zaki Biam in Ukum and Buruku local government areas all in Benue state.
The Minster, who said Power is one of the areas that the federal government is giving much attention to, commended governor Samuel Ortom for showing interest in assisting the ministry to deliver power for the benefit of Benue people and beyond.
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