Nasarawa Government Explores Modalities to Harness Gas Turbine Power Generating Facility.

By Kure Tashilane.

."we will go beyond talks to do it and all the Chinese companies will relocate to Nasarawa state ...

In his commitment to create atmosphere that would keep attracting multilateral companies to build industries in Nasarawa state for the purposes of enhancing value addition to the huge natural resources potentials that abounds in almost all local government areas of the state.

The Governor disclosed that his administration is working assiduously to put modalities in place to launch an ambitious turbine power generating facility in the state to fast track massive establishment of industries by investors in different sectors of the state economy.

Engineer Sule revealed his administration plan to fully industrialized the state using a gas propelled turbine power generation facility during his first meeting with the recently reconstituted State Executive Council members held at the Government House Council Chamber Thursday February 27th, 2025 in Lafia the state capital.

He pointed out that from what he has seen elsewhere recently, it is time to actualize the previous independent energy generating agreement Nasarawa state government had with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the state to tap and extend the Ajaokuta - Kaduna - Kano Natural Gas Pipeline (AKKP) all the way to Lafia for the purposes of establishing a gas turbine power generating facility.

" My visit to Lagos where Gangfeng Lithium Processing Company in Shagamu that has a small lithium processing plant which is the first to be set up in Nigeria. And that is where they take all the materials being taken to Lagos and it has a capacity of 600.000 metric tons; until we insisted that instead of expanding that processing plant there, they should build a factory here in Nasarawa state " He pointed out.

The Governor equally stated that the Chinese firm had agreed to that demand as they are currently building a three million (3m) metric tons capacity lithium processing plant in Endo which is actually over five times the size of the one that they have in Shagamu.

" But the eye opener and the message there is not that particular lithium processing plant, but all the battalion of small factories that are around the area. So many factories now in Shagamu. It was my usual road when I lived in Lagos. Now, from Shagamu all the way to Ogere is just Chinese companies. They are everywhere and that was why when we were at a meeting recently, Governor Abiondu Dapo said he is now the headquarter of industries in Nigeria ...

" And in fact, he may be right because most of these companies have moved there just for one reason from what I was told. There is another investor that came in from China in collaboration with Ogun state government and set up a Gas Turbines Power Generating facility right at that particular site. Right now, they are generating 1,000 megawatts of power ...

" So, all the companies there are hundred percent tapping their power from that particular source. So they are using the gas turbine to generate the power and they are selling the power to them. So, as far as power is concerned, the companies have zero problems, they don't have generators or other sources of power, they are using the power from that gas turbine " The Governor explained.

He stressed that, right now, if you are looking for a site in that area to build a company; you will not have one as there is no space to give to anybody left as all had been taken.

" So, Nasarawa State if you will remember, entered into an agreement about two and a half years ago with NNPCL in order for Nasarawa State to generate it's own power and tap from AKK. So that is what the company had done by tapping from the West African Gas Pipeline. So, once we are able to do that and we go beyond talk and do it, all the Chinese companies are going to move into the state ...

" Most of these Chinese companies not all are going to move to Nasarawa State because they are now closer to Abuja, closer to the centre, closer to the market in the central part of the country in a place where there is security and their companies Investments are safe ...

" We have all the other requirements but we don't have power generation. So that is one of the things that we can do. As I said, the money we just received will go straight to Keffi flyover project and I will urge us that whatever money is coming next can accumulate so that we can also go into Investment as far as power is concerned in Nasarawa state " Sule submitted before the new Executive Council Members at the meeting as the next line of action.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule congratulated members of the State Executive Council for their appointments as Commissioners and equally appreciated them for accepting the responsibility to serve the people of the state under his administration.

" I pray everyone will work together as a team. I want us to understand that the success of one ministry is also resulting to the success of the other. So we are altogether one big ministry operating in different sections. You may have knowledge of what is happening in another ministry that you can contribute. So, it is absolutely necessary that we work together as a team ...

" In team work, there is no competition between us as it doesn't make any sense for one ministry to be a failure and another ministry to be a super success. The most important thing is for all of us to succeed and the only way we can achieve that is to assist one another by working towards the success of other ministries " The Governor admonished.

With regards to the realignment of the ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NGOs, the Governor explained that the two were merged together due to the synergies between them which one Commissioner could actually handle and manage well.

He stressed that humanitarian services are closely related to social welfare and that informed his administration's reason to merge the two together to have a strong ministry of Women Affairs and Humanitarian Services henceforth in the state.

" I also hope you understood what we meant when we say - we are extracting the aspect of mining out of the ministry of environment. Because the ministry of environment is constantly attracting more and more World Bank activities and that is the reason why we have to be able to take out the aspect of mining so it doesn't overshadow; the other very important aspects of the ministry " The Governor explained.

He stressed that owing to the multifaceted attractions the mining sub-sector had generated in Nasarawa state in recent years, his administration is looking for a knowledgeable person in the state who could manage that aspect well as big players and notable personalities across Nigeria and beyond are indicating interest to do mining related businesses in Nasarawa state.

The detachment of mining component from the ministry of environment the Governor said is a temporary measure aimed at standardizing the sector by making it viable before transferring it back to where it belongs in the future.

Engineer Sule also briefed the Executive Council about his recent trip to Lagos on the invitation of a company call JBS an organization that is known for protein production who has been supplying fifty percent of meat demand in the United States and supplies almost eighty percent in Brazilian market as well as Australia.

He pointed out that Nasarawa State was among the three states identified in Nigeria by the company to invest in that aspect of agriculture which is livestock. The Governor noted that the company would be visiting the state more so that the Executive Council had been properly reconstituted to fine tune modalities for the investment initiative in that regard.

However, a vacuum was identified as there is currently no Commissioner for Agriculture in the state as non of the newly Inaugurated Executive Council Member was assigned portfolio to oversee the ministry of agriculture in the state for now.

The Governor also told his Executive Council Members that in the last NEC Meeting they had in Abuja, they unanimously passed a vote of confidence to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration.

On the suggestion by the All Progressives Congress party for the need to review it's constitution, the Governor stated that he was selected by Mr President to represent the entire north central zone as member of the APC constitution review committee.

Thereafter, the meeting went into a closed doors session where the issues raised were deliberated upon before the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism Ibrahim Tanko superintentent over ministerial briefing on the take homes of the meeting resolutions on how it affected their various ministries as they took turns to explain briefly issues stated above.