FG retrieves 690 abandoned containers of power equipment –Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed , says the Federal Government has retrieved 690 containers of power equipment , out of the over 800 containers allegedly abandoned at various ports by the previous administration .The minister disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja when he featured on a Radio Nigeria programme , Politics Nationwide .

“ You will remember that about 800 containers of power equipment were abandoned at the ports, because the previous administration did not pay the contractors and they abandoned the equipment there .

“ As of today , we have been able to retrieve 690 of the containers , ’’ he said .

The minister said that despite the shoddy privatisation process of the Power Generation Companies and Power Distribution Companies by the previous government, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had taken proactive measures to improve on electricity .

“ When we came in 2015 , we found out that many of the beneficiary companies of the privatisation process were undercapitalised , unequipped and lacked the necessary expertise .

“ We , however , resisted the temptation of cancelling the privatisation of the GenCos and DisCos in order not to send wrong signal to the investing world .

“ What we met on ground was very chaotic because the gas suppliers said they would not supply the GenCos with gas because GenCos were not paying .

“ The GenCos said they would have loved to pay but the DisCos were not paying them , ’’ he said .

To salvage the situation , Mohammed said the government set aside a N 7 . 1 bn Payment Assurance Programme .

He said the programme guaranteed that as long as the gas suppliers supplied gas and GenCos generated power for distribution , the government would pay them .

Mohammed said the policy led to increase in power generation from about 4 , 000 megawatts they met in 2015 to more than 7 , 000 megawatts being generated currently.

He disclosed that government had made intervention fund available for the take off of the 3 , 050 megawatts Mambilla hydro – electric plant project which would commence in early 2019 .

Also on power generation , the minister disclosed that the 2 . 4 megawatts solar power project in Katsina would be inaugurated in a few weeks ’ time .

The minister said that the total capacity for power transmission in 2015 was 4 , 000 mw which the Buhari government had increased to 7 , 125 mw in three and half years .

He said the government was able to achieve that by improving the connectivity between the GenCos and the DisCos .

Mohammed also said that government had embarked on distribution expansion programme to help the capacities of DisCos in meeting the needs of electricity consumers .

( NAN )

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