The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, on Sunday reassured Nigerians, especially industrialists, of steady electricity supply in a very short time.
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Nebo gave the assurance at the investiture of the newly elected president and council of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) in Enugu.
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According to him, downturn in the power sector is only temporal and that government is doing everything possible to provide stable electricity.
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“Lots of work is being done. Government is putting the right mechanisms to ensure adequate electricity 24/7,’’ he said.
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Nebo praised industrialists for their steadfastness, urging them to support government’s endeavour toward making them succeed.
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The minister said that the Federal Government had commenced the mapping out of industrial and agricultural clusters across the country with a view to giving them electricity.
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“Industry and manufacturing are keys to economic development and give a double digit growth to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),’’ he said.
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The Chairman, National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, said that privatisation was a major component factor in the power sector reform.
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“The establishment of a competitive electricity market with free entry and exit for private providers is the major objective of the power sector reform in Nigeria,’’ Amadi said.
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Amadi urged Nigerians to stop politicising power, saying that to privatise power was not an easy process.
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According to him, the next phase of the power reform is to regulate the tariff, which he said, was already in progress.
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He appealed to chambers of commerce in the country to support the transformation agenda of the present administration by ensuring the realisation of the power reform objectives.
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The chairman presented a paper entitled, “New power Sector Regime as Panacea to Stable and Quality Electricity Supply’’.
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Earlier, the Director-General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, stressed the need for the public to be vigilant and take action whenever they buy substandard products.
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Odumodu said vigilance was necessary in curbing the existence of counterfeit and substandard products in Nigeria.
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In his acceptance speech, the new President, Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, said he would redouble efforts to move the council forward.
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Okoye said he would focus on promotion of the agriculture sector as well as improve on the activities of manufacturers.
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In his remarks, the past president of ECCIMA, Dr Theo Okonkwo, urged the new executive to remain focused, and promised to offer useful advice to the chamber if need be.
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The event witnessed awards to some distinguished industrialists in the South-East zone of the country.
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