Politically speaking, one can understand the urgency to increase investment in the power sector in Nigeria because of the huge existential energy gap, which has led to the frenetic activities in the power sector as exemplified by the issuance of two power generation licenses with a combined capacity of 723MW to firms by the regulatory agency (NERC) in the sector and the ground-breaking ceremony of the 350MW phase 1 of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Gwagwalada 1,350MW combine cycle Independent Power Project by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the 4th of August, 2023.

With a paltry 12,000MW installed generation capacity, it is understandable that Nigeria is in a hurry for improvement if she must attain rapid industrialization and have positive impact on the quality of life of the citizens.

It is noteworthy that this plant will receive gas supply for its generation from the ongoing 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project and expectedly, more power projects will spring up along this corridor to boost the nation’s power supply. This will be in line with the experience along the 439km Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) that is littered with such power plants as Sapele NIPP, Azura IPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Olorunsogo 1 & 2 NIPP, Geregu 1 & 2 NIPP, Omotosho 1 & 2 NIPP, Egbin IPP, Paras, Taopex thermal stations.

Since the power sector has been moved from the exclusive list to the concurrent list of the constitution, it is expected that the states of Kogi, Kaduna and Kano that host this gas pipeline corridor will take advantage of this infrastructure and engage in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity either directly or indirectly through partnerships with the private sector.

In addition, Nigeria should think of expanding her generation mix from only hydro and gas into other sources such as solar, wind, coal etc. that she has in abundance. It is true that some appreciable progress are being recorded with solar as a source of power generation, it is still a long way to go to consolidate the nation’s foray into the use of this resource for power generation.

While the first phase of the Gwagwalada 1,350MW gas project has been flagged off, it is hoped that NNPCL will quickly source for needed funds so as to commence the remaining phases of the project in order to boost power generation in Nigeria.