A statement by the power utility signed by its Managing Director, Patrick Umeh, attributed the outages to the ongoing nationwide strike by the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in protest against what it called “certain recent developments in the country”.

Both the NLC and the TUC started the strike following the manhandling of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, by those described as political thugs during a protest in Owerri, Imo State, days to last weekend’s gubernatorial election in the state.

According to Umeh, Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th and newest electricity distribution company, has not been receiving supplies from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as a result of the strike.

He pledged immediate restoration of electricity once the strike is called off.

Nwifuru made the assertion when he received the management team of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in his office on Tuesday in Abakaliki.

The Governor called for improved power supply to the state, noting that Ebonyi, with less number of companies, should enjoy electricity more than other states.

In a strongly worded statement in Enugu today signed by the ECAN zonal chairman, Engr Joe Ubani, and the secretary, Comrade Chris Okpara, the association accused a commissioner in the immediate past Abia State government (name withheld) of leading a band of four persons to attempt to incite the people against the new Alex Oti government under the guise of being electricity activists.

“This tiny clique of disgruntled and discredited politicians in Abia State has no record of honest public service, let alone altruistic civic engagement”, they declared.

“They are emergency actavists, not activists, who have neither personal nor professional reputation to protect.

“No one knows any of them in the highly and rarefied electricity sector which is going through a turbulent period all over Nigeria, perhaps more than any sector in Nigeria”.

ECAN said that the politicians who worked with Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu are unhappy that the Oti administration has endeared itself to the Abia people since coming into office last May 29 with its people-oriented actions and programmes.

The leaders of the electricity consumers association remarked that the new government’s impressive strides in road development in particular “irk these revisionists and wannabe activists because their leader headed the Ministry of Works with absolutely nothing to show for it except heaps of garbage on roads and streets of Aba, Umuahia and elsewhere.Experience.

See also Breaking: Liz Truss resigns as UK PM
Noting that Abia would never return to what it called the PDP governance nightmare, ECAN expressed optimism that Abia would witness a new and unprecedented phase in rapid development “once the Geometric Power group starts one of its three turbines in the Osisioma Industrial Layout in Aba which will produce 47 megawatts each”.

The association disclosed that in readiness for the proper takeoff of Aba Power which will make the foremost industrial city in the Southeast the first place in the country to experience uninterrupted, reliable, safe, and affordable public power supply, both big foreign and local companies like Nemeith Pharmaceuticals plc are moving their manufacturing operations to Aba.

They added: “Not only will multinationals like Nigerian Breweries plc produce more in Aba, such history-changing mega projects like Enyimba Economic City, a joint venture between Nigerian business leaders and their Chinese counterparts designed to reproduce world-class cities like Dubai in Abia State, will succeed more than earlier envisaged because of the support they will get from Aba Power.

“Modern cities with modern infrastructure like the speed train and a competitive seaport run on efficient electricity.

“The mega projects are coming to Aba because of the impending takeoff of Aba Power”.

ECAN commended the Abia people for ignoring the former commissioner and his clique

Though the Ringed-Fence Area was handed over to us legally and officially a year ago, we did not take full control until six months later for reasons well-known to you. We are to this day in the transition period.

In the last one year, each of you has done your best to ensure that we provide the people of Abia State with constant, reliable, quality and affordable power. Much as I am the first person to acknowledge that the journey ahead is still far, we are proud of what we have achieved so far. Our four brand new power substations are of the highest global standard, costing us three times the amount we could have used to fix the regular type that dots the Nigerian electric power landscape. Three substations inherited from the PHCN have been refurbished. Over 150,000 kilometres of overhead wires have been put in place. Electricity has been restored, with massive cooperation from the Nigerian Navy, from Aba City to Owerrenta after two years of darkness, as we have done in parts of Ukwa. Places like the Aba-Owerri Road now receive power for, on average, 20 hours per day. When we took over, the LGAs we service used to receive, on average, less than 30 megawatts, but we now pick load of up to 97.44 MW. Things are truly shaping up.

As regards the Geometric Power Generation Company, we are also proud of what we have done. Despite Nigeria’s hostile economic environment, we chose to purchase and install three brand-new turbines from General Electric of the United States, the world’s oldest and biggest electricity equipment manufacturing firm. Even though the three new turbines capable of producing 141 megawatts were never in commercial operation, we sent them back to the United States in 2019 for a comprehensive check and retrofitting in line with the best global standards. Very few cities in the world have our kind of tubular poles that can easily withstand earthquakes. Work will soon be completed on the 27-kilometre gas pipeline from Owaza in Ukwa West LGA to the Osisioma Industrial Estate in Aba.

We have worked with the best in the energy sector worldwide to provide Nigerians with the best. We have worked with, among others, ABB, Group 5, KS Energy of Turkey run by former GE engineers, NRECA of the United States, and Oilserv, the foremost indigenous petroleum pipeline-laying firm. We have made the training and retraining of our workforce a way of life because we are a learning organisation committed to organizational learning and knowledge. In terms of staff welfare, we doubled the salaries of staff inherited from the EEDC. The list goes on.

Our goal is to have a world-class company that will serve as a model in the power sector in Nigeria and beyond. This may seem impossible in the eyes of some people, but it is achievable. We have to stretch ourselves to achieve this goal. There is nothing the talent we have seen in Aba Power cannot achieve with the right environment and the right incentives.

Let me end by thanking President Muhammadu Buhari whose government made the resolution of the nine-year dispute over the Aba Ringed Fence possible, the government and people of Abia State that believe in our vision, the African Exim Bank which provided the critical facility to conclude the Aba Power project, our Nigerian lenders, Diamond (now Access) Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Bank of Industry, Central Bank of Nigeria, AMCON whose contributions are not quantifiable, the Umuojima community where we are based, and so many others that cannot be mentioned here. Let me reiterate that the Aba Power workforce continues to play a preeminent role in the success of not just the Aba Power project but also Geometric Power.

May the Good Lord continue to guide, protect and bless you all and your families.

Bart Nnaji, CON, NNOM, FAS, FAEng.

“Geometric Power is playing a critical role in the life of every person and business in Abia State and it is legally and morally incumbent on each of us as the chairman of the local government in his or her place to take the assignment seriously”, Aba Power managing director, Patrick Umeh, quoted the chairman of the Association of Local Government Chairmen (ALGON) in Abia State, Ike Anyatonwu, as saying in a statement he released after a meeting between the chairmen and Geometric Power representatives at Ebiza Hotel in Aba.

“Professor Bart Nnaji, the founder and chairman of Geometric Power, has done what no-one has done in the history of the Southeast”, continued Anyatonwu who is also the chairman of Isiala Ngwa South LGA, “by establishing this world-class integrated power project in Abia State to provide constant, quality and affordable electricity to homes, offices and factories in the majority of local government areas in the state”.

The ALGON chairman commended Aba Power for continuous improvements in the number of hours “we get supply daily and the quality”, saying that it is in recognition of the “preeminent role which Geometric Power is playing in the economic, social, manufacturing and technological development of the state that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has been giving Professor Nnaji and his team unflinching support, including directing the relevant LG chairmen to cooperate with them as chief security officers in their respective domains”.

The meeting with the LG chairmen was called at the instance of Governor Ikpeazu’s Chief of Staff, Chief Okey Ahiwe, who described the electricity infrastructure in the state as “a huge public good rather than a mere asset belonging to a team of Nigerian and international investors”.

Geometric Power has over the months waged a spirited campaign against vandalism of power infrastructure in its coverage area, as well as energy theft.

Vandalism has been against especially distribution transformers and armoured cables while energy theft involves mostly individuals and businesses who use roadside electricians to ensure that their meters do not capture the use of such heavy power-consuming objects as wielding machines, pressing irons, electric kettles and air conditioning systems.

“These practices”, declared Governor Ikpeazu on various occasions, “are absolutely unfair to a group of persons who have invested close to $600m to make life better for our people”.

Dr Ikpeazu has promised to use all “resources available to me to stop the criminal acts”.

The arrests of a number of young men in Abia State in recent months for their roles in vandalism against power infrastructure have led to a decline in the monthly rate of the incidence.

Other LG chairmen who attended the meeting are The Hon Clinton Ebere of Aba South, Victor Ubani (Aba North), Dr E. U. Shabba (Ukwa East), Chief Uchenna Jumbo (Osisioma), Chief Chinwendu V. Ochulor (Isiala Ngwa North), and Chief Okey Kanu (Ukwa West). Others are The Rt Hon Joy Nnanta (Ugwunagbo) and Chief Mrs Uloma Nwogu (Obingwa).

From the Geometric Power team were Air Commodore Nicholas Orjiudenta, a retired engineer and intelligence expert with the Nigerian Air Force who heads Geometric Security Service; Engineer Andrew Amaje who represented the managing director of Geometric Aba Ltd, Engr Ben Caven; Engr Livinus Nmaram of Aba Power Ltd; and Engr Jude Efedi, the Commercial Service manager of Aba Power.

The meeting was moderated by Anthony Alozie, a well- regarded management consultant who used to be a top financial executive with the American oil services giant, Halliburton Ltd.

“I am excited at the patriotic sentiments of participants in the meeting and their vision for Abia people which synchronises with that of the state government and, of course, that of Geometric Power group”, Alozie stated.

Since the privatization of the electricity sector in 2013, the Aba IPP has been among the most influential and prominent. The deal would create the first integrated power supply system of its sort to be carried out in Nigeria, with regard to the generation and distribution of energy, inside a sizable, ring-fenced region that is entirely sponsored and financed by the private sector.

This deal required the intricate restructuring of an existing debt of more than USD 500 million, which was given by a syndicate of Nigerian lenders to Geometric Power Aba Limited (a subsidiary of Geometric Power Limited), and is now restructured as a 100% Naira loan. Additionally, new equity sources (such as an EPC contractor and a sub-sovereign government) contributed USD19 million in new equity funding, while Afrexim Bank contributed USD50 million in additional loans for project completion. The factory is now fully funded after the stock round ended. The transaction required intensive contact and coordination with the regulators and top level government officials due to the deal’s significant influence on the Aba IPP, which was necessary to guarantee a successful execution.

The closing of this transaction will result in the establishment of the 12th electricity distribution company since the privatization of the electric power sector, which led to the establishment of 11 distribution companies. This will improve access for Nigerian citizens and businesses, and it is anticipated that this transaction will provide electricity to more than 2 million people and 300,000 businesses, revive dying industries, and power a portion of the Enyimba Economic City as well as markets like the famous Ariaria International Market that harbours entrepreneurs mostly involved in the export value chain.

This project will have a significant positive impact on the Aba metropolis, which is renowned for its industrial capabilities and the industry of its citizens. Navigate the extensive content on Rehab Near Me’s website seamlessly by exploring the detailed sitemap available at rehabnear.me. Whether you’re seeking information on rehabilitation services, resources, or support, this sitemap offers a structured overview, making it easy to find the assistance you need. Visit the link to discover the diverse range of valuable content and resources available on the Rehab Near Me website.

Delve into the essentials of multifamily investing with a focus on syndication and apartment complex strategies tailored for accredited investors. Gain valuable insights and enhance your real estate investment knowledge by exploring this informative guide on multifamily investing basics. Make informed decisions and navigate the world of real estate with confidence.