By Efemena Otite,
Call it a big rip-off on the people of Delta State and you are dead right. The Delta State government under the leadership of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, based on the advice of one Mr. Gary Akpobire, who the government engaged in 2007 to fashion out economic blueprint for Uduaghan, introduced the idea of establishing a state-owned Independent Power Plant to propel the expected industrialization process of the state.
Not a bad idea, but since 2007 when the government decided to go ahead with the execution of the project, over N27 billion has been injected into it but as at the time of filing this report the proposed site of the project located somewhere in Ogharefe, Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government Area could not be accessed because the place is marshy and the government has not been able to construct an access road to the site.
But the most intriguing part of the story of the six years old IPP project which, at conception ought to have been completed within 30 months, is the realization recently that the major contractor to the project is the governor himself in partnership with the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei both of whom are operating with the company name, DaveNotch Nig. Ltd.
It was also gathered that the main consultant to the IPP project is the current Secretary to the State government, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay whom, it was gathered,has engaged one Professor of Electrical Engineering from the Anambra State University, Awka who is representing the SSG.
Six years after the commencement of disbursement of state fund for the project,there appears to be a straight-jacket story cooked up by the governor and handed over to the Commissioner for power and energy, one Mr. Charles Emetulu.
And the story is that the contract for the manufacture of the turbines for the project has been awarded to a UK-based Engineering firm, Rolls Royce Company and that since it is not ‘panadol’ that one can pick up from the shelf, it takes time to design and build the equipment. Of recent, the story was updated, and the Commissioner has said that the two turbines have arrived at the Onne Port in Port Harcourt for more than a year now and that the problem is how to transport them to the project site in Oghara due to the bad state of the East-West road. So, Onne Port, the turbines seem to be stagnated until the East West road project is completed or, in the alternative tow the equipment with barges to Oghara town
through water.
The government keeps insisting there is progress in the project even as it
concedes there is no access road to the project site. Recently, the Good Governance Tour team led by the Minister for Information visited the state and was taken to the same Oghara in Ethiope West where he was conducted round the Delta State University Teaching Hospital and the Nigerian Navy Logistics Headquarters – all built by the former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori but the state government officials tacitly did not include the IPP project in the program me booklet and therefore cleverly avoided taking the minister to the project site in spite of the fact that
the governor keeps emphasizing that the IPP project as one of its star projects, ison course.
As it is now, governor Uduaghan just has 24 months to leave the government house for God knows where but it is very obvious that the IPP project is one of the projects already consigned to the dustbin of abandoned projects.It would be recalled that the Akwa-Ibom project, Ibom Power Plant, which was initiated almost the same time with the Delta State IPP project has since been completed and functional. Even the Bauchi state-owned IPP 110 megawatts being constructed by a Chinese firm is at the final state of completion ready for commissioning.
With over N27 billion already committed to the Delta State IPP project, the government keeps emphasizing that the project is on course and that the equipment are customized for Delta State alone, hence the delay.
But as at the time of report, even the construction of access road to the proposed site is yet to commence but the Commissioner for Power and Energy has a prepared photospread of some items covered by tarpaulin which he calls equipment for the IPP which, according to him, are stored somewhere he calls warehouse in Oghara town.
Efemena Otite,
Reporting From Ogharefe, Oghara, Delta State