Nigerian Govt. to use dams for power generation

Mrs Sarah OcheKpe
The Minister of Water Resources

Nigerian Govt. to use dams for power generation

As part of the efforts to improve power generation and distribution in the Nigeria, the Nigerian Ministry of Water Resources, in collaboration with the Ministry of Power, has earmarked some selected dams across the country to boost electricity supply.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe said in Jos, the capital of
Plateau state in northern Nigeria that the ministry was currently working to ensure that dams that had capacity to generate hydro-electricity were put into effective use.

Purpose

According to her, the initiative is aimed at boosting the amount of megawatts that could be put into the national grid.

Mrs Ochepe said that some of the dams in the country were underutilised and, therefore, needed to be put into effective use to meet the needs of the country in terms of power supply and agriculture.

She said “As you are aware, part of the challenges facing the country now is the issue of power, most of the industries are either closed or operating below capacity. So, we are collaborating with the Ministry of Power to ensure that dams that have the capacity to generate hydro-electricity are put into effective use. This is to add to the amount of megawatts that can be put into use.”

River Basin Development Authorities

The minister said that the River Basin Development Authorities across the country were set up to bring development to the people, but had been crippled by the recommendations of the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) Committee, headed by Hamsat Zayyard.

She stated that the committee recommended privatisation of the River Basin Development Authorities and some of the vital equipment of the Basins were disposed off and left with virtually nothing to function, This, more than anything else, she said, had been affecting the operations of the sector.

NP/Adekusibe/Cokey