House Committee Ends International Conference

The Rivers state House of Assembly House Committee on Power has concluded its two day international power roundtable conference with a promise to make it an annual event.

The event which took place between 25th-26th November 2009 at the main auditorium of the State House of Assembly in Port Harcourt, attracted participants in the power industry within and outside the country.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the event, the chairman, State House of Assembly Committee on Power, Hon. Henry Ogiri announced that the conference would become a yearly event, adding that the discussions reached at the conference would be communicated to the state executive council for deliberation.

Hon Ogiri stated that the conference was necessitated to involve private sector participation in the power development in the country as well as complement the federal government’s effort in providing constant power generation in the country.

He explained that when electricity generation in the country improves, it would stimulate the nation’s economy especially the manufacturing sector, adding that in doing so, it would create employment opportunities in the country as well as reduce poverty rate among the people.

The lawmaker described the theme of the conference, “Maximizing Investment Opportunities In Power projects in Nigeria through public-private partnership” as timely, adding that to generate private interest in the nation’s power sector, government needs to aggressively market her various power projects, initiate opportunities and policies to potential private investors within and outside the country.

He lauded the state government for its effort in ensuring that all communities in the state were electrified through power generation, hoping that the distribution components would also be liberalised.