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Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
The Federal Government says the stage is set for the perennial power problem to become a thing of the past in the country, following an agreement with German company Siemens to boost power supply.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja at a media briefing to mark the first anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term Administration.
The minister who underscored the importance of power to economic development said it is a priority to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration.
“It will be an understatement to say that inadequate power supply, hallmarked by regularly blackouts, has stifled Nigeria’s economic development.
“It is perhaps the single most formidable obstacle to the country’s economic development,” he said.
The minister disclosed that under the three-phase agreement with Siemens, Nigerians will enjoy 7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by the end of 2021, which is on phase one.
He said in the second phase, electricity supply would increase to 11,000 megawatts by the end of 2023 and 25,000 megawatts in the third phase.
“To put things in perspective, Nigeria’s current power generation capacity is more than 13,000 megawatts, but only an average of 3,400 megawatts reliably reach consumers.
“In essence, the current amount of power that reaches consumers will more than double by the end of next year.
“In addition, this will create thousands of jobs and will leapfrog the country into the next level of industrial and social development,” he said.
Speaking on the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) launched by the President in February, the minister said the innovation would advance the nation’s goal of building a globally-competitive economy,.
He said the NVP will also improve Nigeria’s business environment, attract Foreign Direct
Investment, boost tourism, and improve African integration, without compromising national security and our territorial integrity. (NAN)
