Our children must not depend on generators, says Jonathan

With the short and medium-term programmes mapped out for the power sector in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said Nigerian children soon would no longer depend on generators for electricity supply.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the N162.9bn Zungeru Hydro Power Dam in Niger State, the President said many of the programmes mapped out for the power sector had been attained and surpassed, and that the issue of generators would soon be a thing of the past.

He said, 'Today, many short and medium programmes have been attained and surpassed. The long term programmes of the power project are underway.

'Our children must not live in a country where they get individual generators to generate light for them. This government is ensuring the regulation of the power sector to ensure power for all.'

Jonathan said his administration was working towards the regulation of power where the use of individual generators would be outlawed.

The President stated that the problem of funding and other obstacles confronting the power sector had been addressed adequately by his administration, adding that the commencement of the hydro power dam would encourage agricultural activities in the state and turn the economy around.

In his address, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the Zungeru power plant had been on the government's drawing board since 1982.

According to him, the take-off of the project has been encumbered by different circumstances, but noted that the financial challenges had been addressed.

Nebo said, 'Today, we have in place not just the designs, but the funding mechanism of all the major hydro schemes in the country.'