The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it stepped up work on the N6 billion 132KV transmission line and 132/33KV sub-station, which it is constructing at Okitipupa in Ondo state, to cover about 2,000 communities.
According to a statement issued by Charles Odili, corporate affairs director of the NDDC, Akwagaga Enyia, acting managing director of the commission, said this when she visited the site of the project.
Speaking during the inspection of the project in the company of Agboola Ajayi, deputy governor of the state, Enyia said she was excited that the commission was constructing “a huge power station” in the oil-producing area of the state.
She said: “I was told that for some time, there was delay in the progress of work at the site. When I came on board as the Acting MD, I made sure that funds were released to put the project on fast-track. That is why work is going on at a much faster pace now.”
Enyia said it was one of the key projects with many months of outstanding interim payment certificates (IPC) which were cleared to pave way for progress at the sites.
The NDDC chief assured the state that as more funds are made available to the commission, payment will be sustained to guarantee early completion of the project, adding that the contractor has promised to complete the project by the first quarter of 2020.
In his remarks, the deputy governor commended the NDDC, saying the commission has done well in spite of some challenges which are expected in any organisation, especially an interventionist agency.
He expressed delight that over 2,000 oil-producing communities spread across five local government areas will benefit from the sub-station.
“We must look at how we can strengthen the Commission to deliver on its mandate. We need to encourage and support NDDC to do more for the people of the region,” he said.
Ajayi commended Enyia for being the first NDDC chief executive officer to personally inspect the power station, adding that the visit offered her the opportunity to see what NDDC was paying for.
“For us, this is the most important project NDDC is executing in Ondo State. If you deliver this project, you will have delivered the whole of Ondo South from the pains of lack of public power supply. All of us will be happy with you and the economy of the area, which had been crippled for many years, will begin to boom,” he said.
The deputy governor said the project was dear to the hearts of the people, and he asked the NDDC and the federal government not to relent until the project was completed.
In his own remarks, Ifeoluwa Oyedele, executive director engineering and technical services, Niger Delta Power Holding Co Ltd, said the inspection by the NDDC was significant because it underscored the importance of collaboration between the various agencies of government.
He said the NDDC sub-station would be fed from NDPHC power station in Omotosho, which according to him, is grossly underutilised.
“We have four turbines at the station, but at the moment we are firing only one, while the rest are idle,” he said.
Oyedele said the southern senatorial district of Ondo state represents the core economic base of the state as it is the oil-producing area. He lamented that the absence of public power supply in the area has strangulated the state’s economy for 12 years.
He said the NDDC sub-station was a critical power infrastructure for the people of the area because even when PHCN has energised the Okitipupa power line, it will be largely ineffective until the NDDC sub-station comes on stream.
Giving a brief of the project, Benson Obayelu, managing director of Stedy Engineering Ltd, said the scope covers the evacuation of light from Omotosho with a step down at Ireje through a 132KV double circuit line with two 30/40MVA transformers at Okitipupa.
He said the transmission lines run through Ireje with 145 electricity towers that are standing on concrete foundations. He said all the materials needed for the project are already on site at Okitipupa. The materials include 45 kilometres of wires and 240 kilometres of conductors.
He re-stated that five local government areas in the southern senatorial district of Ondo state that have been without public power supply will be connected when the project is completed.
