Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule laments Nigeria’s failure to exceed 6,000 MW of electricity generation, despite plans for 50,000 MW by 2020.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has expressed his disappointment over Nigeria’s persistent inability to generate more than 6,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
This comes despite ambitious plans to boost the country’s power generation capacity to 50,000 MW by 2020, as part of the Vision 20:2020 initiative aimed at positioning Nigeria among the world’s 20 richest countries.
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Speaking at the 32nd Engineering Assembly organised by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Governor Sule reflected on the progress made since the inception of Vision 20:2020. “In 2009, when Vision 20:2020 was formed, I was a member of the power committee.
At that time, we were generating about 6,000 MW of power, and we committed to increase this to 50,000 MW by 2020, using various sources like hydro and gas turbines. The goal was to become the 20th largest economy. However, 15 years later, we are still generating less than the 6,000 MW we had back then,” Sule lamented.
He stressed the necessity of moving away from fossil fuels and adopting cleaner energy sources, which Nigeria possesses in abundance. Sule urged the country to explore mining as a significant source of revenue, highlighting that Nasarawa is one of the four states contributing over N1 billion to the federation account.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.