By Etuka Sunday
The Governor of Ondo State, Ogbeni Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, has flagged off a distribution intervention project for the improvement of electricity supply at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Owo, Ondo State by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited.
The project is the construction of 1×2.5MVA 33/11kV injection substation with associated 33kV/11kV & LT lines & installation of 3 no’s 500kVA distribution substation transformers.
At the ceremony, Akeredolu who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa thanked “President Muhammadu Buhari through the management of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for the laudable project in one of the higher institutions of learning in Ondo State.
The Governor said, “Looking at the technical details of this project and its benefits, an upgrade from 2.5MVA to 7.5MVA, I believe it will address two critical areas of concern to our administration in this corridor. This is another landmark achievement in the power sector. There is no gainsaying the fact that power supply is very significant to our individual and national lives. Nigeria has had a long history of problematic public power supply but when the APC government came on board, we promised to change the narrative through massive infrastructural development through policy direction and necessary reform to increase supply to the Nigerian populace.
“Access to adequate electricity in educational facilities like Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, will certainly improve learning processes and the general condition. It will no doubt enable night academic activities, which are critical to academic pursuit. Also, illumination of campus premises in the night will aid security operations and discourage criminal activities. It will also increase economic activities on campus and its environs. With regular power supply on campus, students will have access to electrical appliances and tools like computer and internet facilities to enhance their education which will further grant them access to further educational resources online, improve their assimilation rate and narrow the digital divide through information and communication technology.”
Earlier, NDPHC’s Executive Director, Networks, Engr. IfeOluwa Oyedele had told the huge gathering of government and polytechnic officials, students, politicians, traditional rulers, and common citizens that government of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to take power to the people. He said one of the organs through which that was being achieved “is the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC). As you know, NDPHC is a company owned by the three tiers of government and we have, in our own little way, tried to affect the life of every Nigerian positively.
“Just about three weeks ago, the President commissioned the 330/132/33kV transmission substation built by NDPHC in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State. From the Governor down to ordinary people on the streets, residents of Nasarawa State were ecstatic following the commissioning because their lives have been positively affected. Before then, it was almost impossible to run even an air-conditioning unit in the Government House with public power supply.
The Media Adviser to the Managing Director, NDPHC, Adesanya Adejokun in a statement said, while reiterating that “it is not the duty of NDPHC to do these things as the company’s primary mandate is to generate electricity”, Oyedele explained however, that the company intervenes because those with the mandate to provide transmission and distribution services “do not have the capacities to extend power supply to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. That is why although we are basically a generation company, we provide transmission and distribution services because we know that after generating electricity, it must get to end users to become meaningful.”
So far, NDPHC has constructed and commissioned over 350 Injection Substations with a combined capacity of about 3,540MW across the length and breadth of the country. It has further constructed about 2,600km of 11KV and 4600km of 33kV distribution lines for improvement access to electricity and quality of power supply to consumers.
Earlier in his welcome address, Rector of the polytechnic, Mr. Gani Ogundahunsi had enthused that the “project is going to be a massive help for us because we have been spending so much on diesel. This facility is going to help us in distribution and every other thing as it pertains to power situation in this polytechnic. It is going to be a massive help to us and as such, we are extremely grateful to the Executive Director, Networks of NDPHC, Engr. Ife Oyedele who is one of us and to Federal Government of Nigeria for putting this kind of agency in place that will always help to alleviate this kind of suffering that many of our educational institutions are going through.”
