The Federal Government on Monday in Abuja said there was need to upgrade the country’s electricity infrastructure to improve its socio-economic performance. Mr Nuhu Wya, the Minister of State for Power said this at a stakeholders Forum on “Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG)”.

President Jonathan

Wya said the upgrade and expansion of electricity infrasructure would also enable the country to achieve its aspiration of being in the league of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020. The PRG is a cardinal component of the Nigeria Electricity and Gas Improvement Project (NEGIP) credit facility granted to Nigeria by the World Bank.

It is one of the projects being undertaken by the bank, aimed at creating an impact on the development of the country’s power sector.

According to the Minister, Vision 20-2020 can only be achieved through optimisation of existing infrastructure and an aggressive private sector investment in the industry.

“This administration is focused on economic policy reforms and institutional framework, aimed at removing impediments to infrastructure development and boosting performance,” Wya noted.

The minister further said that the recent review in gas pricing regime and the advent of the PRG which led to the execution of some Gas Supply Aggregation Agreeement  (GSAA) and Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) had led to the availability of gas supply to some thermal power stations.

He said that the forum was meant to deliberate on efforts, aimed at resolving impediments to sustainable gas supply and the improvement of power supply.

“It is therefore my candid suggestion that major stakeholders should meet regularly in order to review the impact of the PRG so as to ensure sustainability in improving gas supply. This is in consideration of the anticipated increase in the demand of gas within a short term,” Wya noted.

Mr Samuel Agboola, the Chairman of NEGIP Stakeholders’ Consultative Committee (NSCC) urged stakeholders to brainstorm and enlighten the populace on the benefits to be realised from the NEGIP/PRG.

“I want to appeal to all the major implementing agencies to ensure that they organise regular meetings in order to compare notes about the progress of NEGIP. Especially when there are issues to be resolved for the overall progress of the project,” Agboola said.