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Restoration of N11 billion infrastructure in North East to reduce food prices, says Fashola

By Kingsley Jeremiah, Yola
15 May 2018   |   4:24 am
The rehabilitation of the damaged electricity infrastructure by Boko Haram insurgency in North-East, estimated at about N11 billion, will enable the country see reduction in inflation, especially prices of food and address rising poverty.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Works, Power and Housing.

• ‘N72b investment underway for DisCos
• ‘Nigeria eyes 9,000mw, to restore electricity to Niger Republic

The rehabilitation of the damaged electricity infrastructure by Boko Haram insurgency in North-East, estimated at about N11 billion, will enable the country see reduction in inflation, especially prices of food and address rising poverty.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who stated this yesterday at the monthly power sector meeting in Yola, said 80 per cent of the devastation had been fixed.

The repairs, according to him, would enable the country restore the international network that supplies electricity to Niger Republic and boost agricultural output from the region.

According to him, a lot of work has been done in places like Magali, Maiduguri, Borno, Mobi, Danboa between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC).

Fashola, who also disclosed that government had retained 40 per cent share in the 11 DisCos, leaving 60 per cent to private owners, said it would invest about N72 billion in the firms to expand power grid.

He was also optimistic of incremental power supply across the country, saying that players in the power sector must raise their games in the services offered to consumers, especially as the raining season sets in.

Managing Director, Yola electricity Distribution Company (YEDC), Baba Mustapha, who put estimate of facilities destroyed by Boko Haram at N11 billion, said most of the facilities had been fixed by the state and Federal Government.

Besides, Managing Director of TCN, Usman Gur, said transmission capacity in Nigeria would hit 9,000 megawatts (mw) by December from the current capacity of 7,000mw.

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