In his determination to uphold the principle of the rule of law in the nation's public life, the Minister of Power has assured Germans and other investors in the on-going privatization that the Nigerian Government is ready to adhere strictly to the terms and conditions of the different Memoranda which have been signed, stressing that such agreement are to be respected.
While speaking in Abuja on Thursday October 24, 2013 at the 7th Annual Nigeria – German Energy Partnership Forum, Chinedu Nebo said that the concern of Government is to provide uninterrupted power to the Nigerian people, assuring the Germans that their invaluable contributions to Nigeria in this task will immensely impact positively on energy security in Germany.
He also outlined the institutional structures established to enhance the on-going privatization, indicating that the roadmap launched by the President in 2010 has provided measures for evaluating commitment to the disinvestment programme adjudged to be the largest in the world.
"Results have shown the renewed interest globally for investment opportunities in the Nigeria's power sector. New investors should take advantage of this by buying into the 10 NIPP projects that will be on sale until the first quarter of 2014. Our plans are not cast in stone. All we want is to encourage investors, who are appreciative of the long time gestation period for power sector investment as they are bound to play by the rules," he said.
Explaining on the renewable energy initiatives of the Germans, the Minister appealed to the visiting team to avail Nigerians of the enormous opportunities in the development of off-grid, small cluster energy sources for the rural areas. He stressed that rural folks need access to electricity and that it is far too expensive for the national grid to serve people at the grass root level.
The leader of the German delegation, Harald Braun,who is the State Secretary and Deputy Minister earlier affirmed the commitment of Germany to assisting Nigeria to overcome power challenges. He also pointed out that the agenda set for the forum will no doubt help remove all obstacles on the part of the nation's recovery efforts.
He pledged the partnership of the Germans in all critical areas, saying the comparative advantage of Germany in renewables, especially solar will be of interest to Nigeria.
Source: Germany Energy Forum, Nigeria Power Ministry harp on off-grid development agreement (http://fmi.gov.ng/latest/32091/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=germany-energy-forum-nigeria-power-ministry-harp-on-off-grid-development-agreement)
Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria