Nigeria Targets 160,000MW Electricity

The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Prof. Sani Sambo has said Nigeria requires 160,000 megawatts of electricity to rank among the top 10 to 20 economies.

Sambo made the announcement last Wednesday in Sokoto at a four-day Africa International Conference on Renewable Energy tagged “ Solar Africa 2012”.

Sambo, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, said:

“The global standard currently is that there should be 1,000 megawatts per one million people and we are presently over 160 million in Nigeria”.

“We should rely much on the naturally and abundantly endowed renewable energy sources in Nigeria rather than oil whose resources can finish in the next 30 to 50 years ,” he added.

According to Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan is seriously committed to address the energy crisis because the problem is part of the core issues under the Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, said energy was the main factor that powered the progress of any nation.

Shehu also said that renewable energy sources were more efficient and potent in meeting the energy needs of the people. The vice chancellor challenged the conference to proffer solutions to the current energy problems on the continent and Nigeria.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Bala Sokoto, stated that renewable energy sources impacted positively on the lives of the people.

While decrying the epileptic power supply in Nigeria, Sokoto said: “The use of the abundant renewable sources is the only way out for Nigeria and Africa.”

The Director of the Sokoto Energy Research Centre, Prof. Bashir Danshehu, commended the commission for its sustained funding of the centre’s activities.