Obasanjo Inaugurates Four Substations in Aba, Says AIPP Justified His Power Sector Reform

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has expressed delight at the successes recorded by Geometric Power Limited, saying that it has justified his decision to grant licence for the establishment of the Aba Integrated Power Project (AIPP).

He made his feelings known when he inaugurated four 2×15 MVA substations at Ogbor Hill, Aba, built by Aba Power Electric, a subsidiary of Geometric Power Limited, in continuation of its growth and expansion.

Obasanjo stated that “two persons” had actually advised him against granting licence to Prof. Bart Nnaji to set up AIIP, Nigeria’s first independent integrated power project, on the ground that Nigerians could not handle such responsibility.
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However, the former president said that he had rejected the advice and went ahead to give Nnaji the go-ahead and the professor of robotics has justified his confidence in the ability of Nigerians to take on huge responsibilities.

“You have not disappointed me and you did not disappoint all those including all the people that supported you to realise this project,” he told Nnaji.

Obasanjo confessed that when he approved the AIIP licence, he really “wasn’t sure what the outcome would be; it was a trial (but) now that I have seen the outcome I feel happy” that Nnaji swam against the tide to realise the project.

Obasanjo said that the lesson to learn from Nnaji’s success with the AIIP, which supplies reliable power to the Aba ringed-fence area, comprising nine local governments is “within ourselves, among ourselves and by ourselves we have what it takes to develop”.

He described Nnaji as “persistent man, this insistent man, this man, who will never say no” hence, his ability to overcome every huddle on his way in nurturing Geometric to growth and expansion.

Obasanjo noted that the establishment of Geometric Power has come as a big relief to Aba, which had already gone down as a centre of industrial development due to the absence of power.

He said that with what Geometric has been able to do “there is no reason that (Aba) cannot come up again and indeed surpass those that where before it” as an industrial city.

The former president said that he has been consistently monitoring what Nnaji has been doing with Geometric, adding that the AIIP “is working well” in the Aba ring-fenced area.

He therefore pleaded that Geometric Power should extend it tentacles to cover the remaining eight Abia local governments without further delay so that the entire state would be enjoying reliable power supply as presently obtainable in nine councils.

Obasanjo called for continuity in the implementation of national development policies, “otherwise what we are doing in national development of taking two steps forward and one step aside and then three steps back will not take the country anywhere”.

He also pointed out that Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has enough resources to engender development without external assistance, citing the funding of the AIIP in which 70 per cent of $800 million so far spent was locally sourced, while 30 per cent came from outside.

In his address entitled ‘The Nigerian Possibility’, the Chairman and CEO of Geometric Power, Nnaji, said that the AIPP, which has so far “cost over $800 million is now the single largest investment in the South-east” zone.

He lauded Obasanjo for granting the licence for the establishment of the 188MW power plant at Osisioma with its dedicated 27km gas pipeline from the gas processing station in Owaza, and the electricity distribution licencee, the Aba Power.

“Only a leader with Chief Obasanjo’s foresight and patriotism would permit the creation of the Aba Ring-fenced Area for this pilot project as part of his plan for the power sector reform programme which he initiated as a way to revitalize and sustain Nigeria’s economy,” Nnaji said.