Russia to build Nigeria’s first nuclear power plant
BY VICTORIA OJEME
ABUJA — As part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity, the Federal Government is set to sign an agreement with the Russian Federation that will culminate in the building of the nation’s first nuclear power plant.
Consequently, Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Ita Oko-Bassey Ewa, yesterday in Abuja, received a 7-man delegation from the Russian Federation, preparatory to the signing of a draft project implementation agreement between the two nations for the proposed nuclear power plant.
Ewa disclosed that the proposed power plant was a major component of the agreement between the two countries in 2009, saying” a draft project implementation agreement has been prepared and ready for signing”.
The Minister, who regretted the delay in the consummation of the agreement since 2009, assured that “follow up meetings are now being initiated to discuss modalities for its implementation.”
He noted that Nigeria was in dire need of diversifying its energy generation base as part of the overall goal of making the nation’s energy sufficient, adding that “government activated the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, as the pivotal promotional agency to achieve the objective.
Speaking earlier, Director-General of the Russian State Corporation, RUSATOM, and leader of the delegation, Mr Nikolay Spassy, stressed that nuclear power plants were a safe method of generating electricity, assuring that the Russian Federation had an enviable record in the building of such plants.
