The effort of the Federal Government to realise its target of 6, 000 megawatts of electricity before the end of the year received a major boost, weekend , when Lagos state government unveiled the first set of electric transformers made in the state.
Speaking at a media briefing to unveil the 15 locally-made transformers, Commissioner for Rural Development , Prince Lanre Balogun, his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Sola Oworu, said the production of the equipment was achieved through the partnership of state government with a private company, Elsewedy Cables, Ibereko in the Badagry area of the state.
Providing insights into the operations of the manufacturing plant , Oworu said the factory will be producing at least 100 transformers by the end of theyear and will gradually increase its capacity to producing 100 monthly.
Speaking on the partnership, she said the state equity holding in the joint venture was not more than five percent, aside providing the landon which the factory is built.
While shedding light on the involvement of the government in theproject, Rural Development Commissioner, Balogun, said it was driven by the desire of the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration to make life moremeaningful in the state, adding that it was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at addressing the power crisis in the state.
He said: “Although the responsibility of power generation andtransmission and distribution lies with the Federal Government throughthe Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the state itself cannotfold its hands while the people continue in darkness as a result of ineptitude and inefficiency of the PHCN.”
In his address, Information and Strategy Commissioner, Bamidele, described the feat as another giant stride ofthe state government and its determination, capacity and courage to break new grounds and make life meaningful to the ordinary citizen in the state.He said: “This is another achievement in the area of conscious effortsin PPP concept which is working for us in the state. So far, thecompany has produced and delivered to the state 15 transformers whichare to be delivered free of charge to communities in the state.”Fashola had earlier disclosed plans to boost power generation throughproduction of locally-made transformers. The governor, during one ofhis trips overseas to woo investors, met with a Cairo-basedcompany during which he sought a partnership to establish a factory inLagos for the manufacturing of transformers and other electricalcomponents.