FG, Siemens sign agreement to generate 11, 000MW of electricity by 2023

Ime Akpan

The federal government on Monday signed an agreement with a German firm, Siemens AG, on an electrification roadmap to address the crisis in the power sector.

The agreement is the outcome of a meeting President Muhammadu Buhari held with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel on August 31, 2018.

Buhari who revealed the signing of the deal via his twitter handle explained that the deal is meant to deliver more electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes.

However, the president said the deal will not be the solution to all the problems in the power sector but “I am confident that it has the potential to address a significant amount of the challenges we have faced for decades.”

Here is the tweet:

“Today, in partnership with the German Government and Siemens AG, we are making an important move forward in addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenge. Our goal is a simple one: to deliver more electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes.

“My challenge to Siemens, our partner investors in the Distribution Companies, the TCN, and NERC, is to work hard to achieve the target of 7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts by 2023 – in phases 1 and 2 of this initiative, respectively.

“Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a government-to-government framework. No middlemen will be involved, so that we can achieve value for money for Nigerians.

“We also insist that all products be manufactured to high quality German and European standards and competitively priced.

“This project will not be the solution to ALL our problems in the power sector. However, I am confident that it has the potential to address a significant amount of the challenges we have faced for decades.

“It is our hope that as the power situation improves, we will improve investor confidence, create jobs, reduce the cost of doing business and encourage more economic growth in Nigeria.” pic.twitter.com/953qM2Sw5z — Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) July 22, 2019.

The Letter of Agreement was signed on behalf of the federal government by the director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, and the Global Chief Executive Officer of Siemens, Joe Kaeser.

“We all know how critical electricity is to the development of any community or indeed any nation.

“And in Nigeria, we are blessed to have significant natural gas, hydro and solar resources for power generation.

“We are still on the journey to achieving reliable, affordable and quality electricity supply necessary for economic growth, industrialisation and poverty alleviation,” the president was further quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have reacted to the agreement in diverse ways. Some who took to their twitter handles wrote:

Why are African governments concerned with creating more jobs clearly that hasn’t worked ever. Why don’t they focus on getting the youth to learn employable skills or self providing skills so that they don’t have to work for others.

— Woke millennial (@Wokemillennial4) July 22, 2019

This is a step in the right direction. Prioritize power and education, Nigeria desperately needs this moving forward.

— T I Mike (@iorlumun21) July 22, 2019

I hope you do know that if u are expecting the Germans to provide solutions that will fit in our current electricity generation – transmission framework, then you will have to look at current roads/city infrastructure. No reasonable transmission is possible with d present.

— reggy williams (@reggywilliams) July 22, 2019

I prefer when you guys come here to show us achievements and completed projects not proposals please

— Ifeyinwa Abanigbo (@IfeyinwaAbanig1) July 22, 2019

We have a president who would not take bribe from seimens (sic) to facilitate a contract. Nigeria is in safe hands

— Erhire petr (@Erhipete) July 22, 2019

This Siemens Project has worked in Egypt so i am hoping it would work here but the problem is will the People that want us in Darkness allow them work? We have suffered darkness too long.

— King N●-N● (@Zaddy_nomso) July 22, 2019

Finally taking action. It’s unfortunate that our leaders are in a difficult position where they have to fix the problems caused by previous generations. But any progress however small is still progress.

— Woke millennial (@Wokemillennial4) July 22, 2019