Date: 2009-07-28

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, on Monday directed the Minister of Power to make provision for the strengthening of power line from Ganmo Power Sub-station to Kwara North Senatorial District, the hub of Commercial Agriculture in the 2010 budget.

This is in appreciation of the Kwara State Government’s intervention efforts in the completion of the long-abandoned Ganmo Integrated Power Project which has been on the drawing board for the past two decades.

President Yar’adua gave the executive order in Ilorin while commissioning the recently completed and energized Ganmo Power Sub-station as part of activities marking his one-day working visit to Kwara State.

The Nation’s number one citizen, who specially commended the State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki for taking the bold step to intervene and complete the project at a critical stage, said the reinforcement of power line from Ganmo to Kwara North was necessary to give a new lease of life to the New Nigerian Farmers in Shonga and reduce their expenses on diesel.

“I commend His Excellency, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki for taking this bold, exemplary step; and I also thank the people of Kwara State for giving him all necessary support”, Yar’Adua said.

The President assured Governor Saraki that the Federal Government would meet its own part of the financial bargain which has been committed to the completion of the power project.

He also urged other governors to emulate the worthy example of Kwara State, “by partnering with the Federal Government in our unwavering commitment to transform our national economy into one of the world’s twenty largest economies by the year 2020”.

The Chairman of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and Nigeria’s Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, described the completion of Ganmo power project as a positive sign that Nigeria was on course in the attainment of vision 202020.

He assured that all other on-going NIPP projects across the country would be completed and commissioned in line with the 7-Point Agenda of President Yar’Adua.

Earlier, the Minister of Power, Dr. Rilwan Lanre Babalola disclosed that the Ganmo Power Project was the first transmission Sub-station to be completed under NIPP, which he said, had increased economic activities in the State with lower overhead cost and less demand for diesel.

In his welcome address, the elated host Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki described the commissioning ceremony as a milestone in the history of the State, pointing out that “of all the States of the Federation where Federal Government embarked on NIPP programme, this one being commissioned here today is the first to be completed and put to effective use”.

Dr. Saraki, who thanked the President for his understanding and the support given to the State Government in the completion of the project, disclosed that the project was conceived about 26 years ago but only began to see the light of the day in 2006 when it was awarded under the NIPP programme.

The completion of the project, he said, has dramatically improved power supply from the hitherto 30-40 megawatts a day to between 80 and 90 megawatts with an average power supply of 18-24 hours, adding that it has also reduced expenditure on diesel by various companies and Federal establishments by between 80% and 90% on a monthly basis.

Dr. Saraki, however, appealed for the inclusion of reinforcement of power line at the 132KV in the 2010 budget to improve power supply to the agro-allied industrial area of Kwara North, the hub of Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria 

 Mas’ud Adebimpe

Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor

July 28, 2009