Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Monday, unveiled the Light Up Nigeria programme in the South East, aimed at accelerating power supply in industrial clusters in the region, PUNCH reports.
Unveiling the project at the old Government Lodge, Enugu, the vice president said that it was part of the ongoing efforts to improve energy supply to industrial clusters across the Southeast and the country at large.
He assured the South Easterners that President Bola Tinubu means well for the region, adding “if South East works, Nigeria will work.”
The project, which is in collaboration between the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and its partners, featured key stakeholders in the nation’s power sector.
A key highlight of the Vice President’s engagement in Enugu was the Southeast Business Roundtable, featuring top government officials and business leaders deliberating on delivering reliable and sustainable power to industrial and residential areas in the region.
Speaking during the panel discussion, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Juhel, a leading Nigeria pharmaceutical company, Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, decried the targeted clampdown on South East businesses by the Nigerian Customs Service.
Earlier speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, Mr Chinedu Ugbo, said the event provides an opportunity for the business community in the South-East Zone to interact with Shettima, and marks the formal launch of the South-East phase of the strategic collaboration between NDPHC and other project parties to provide steady and reliable electricity supply to industrial and business clusters across Nigeria
He said, “The Light up Nigeria project, which is the focus of today’s event, is led by NDPHC. NDPHC, a government-owned company, is responsible for implementing the National Integrated Power Project ( and operates a portfolio of gas thermal electricity generation assets in Nigeria. However, the optimal utilisation of these assets has been hindered by technical challenges and market constraints.”
Also speaking, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu state said that the Light-Up Nigeria Project signals a new dawn for power and industrialisation of the South East region.
Mbah, however, noted that the initiative aligns with his administration’s disruptive approach to governance underpinned by thinking outside the box.
He said, “The Light up Nigeria Project Today is, in my view, a new dawn for power in the South East and one of the most innovative initiatives in the power sector. This project is of critical importance since it deals with the power sector, which I believe is pivotal to economic growth. Indeed, if we fix power, a lot of other sectors would fall into place.
“This project ensures efficient dispatch of power to the largest consumers via bilateral sales agreements, which overrides the existing bulk purchase arrangements through NBET, leveraging on a willing buyer, willing seller structure.”
