From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A Northern group, Arewa Think Tank has commended the former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the President/CEO of Geometric Power Plant (GPP), Aba, Prof. Barth Nnaji, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu for their respective roles in making the establishment and operations of the GPP a reality.
Aba power plant, with the capacity to produce 188 MWT electricity, was started 20 years ago, and it’s expected to supply power to Aba metropolis and eight other local government areas within the Aba ring-fenced area.
Senator Kalu representing Abia North at the upper legislative chamber was said to have granted a waiver to the company while in office as the governor which made it become attractive to investors.
In a statement on Saturday, the Chief Convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu recalled the important role the former governor played in bringing the Plant to fruition.
Arewa Think Tank also commended the proponent of the Geometric Power plant, Prof. Barth Nnaji who is the former Minister of power during President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“We have been following progressive events in this country, and we consider it appropriate to appreciate the efforts of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, who gave the initial waivers to Geometric Power Plant, thereby, reducing risk of the transaction.
“We are sure that if those waivers were not in place, no investor would have taken the risk to invest in such gigantic power generating business.
“We want to commend Kalu’s dedication to the Geometric Power Plant and his role at the early stage of the establishment of the Plant because without Kalu granting the company waiver at her formative stage, investors wouldn’t have shown interest.
“We also want to commend Prof. Barth Nnaji, the proponent of Geometric Power, Aba, who resigned as Minister of power during the Jonathan administration because of lack of technical expertise in the privatisation process.
“Prof. Nnaji had insisted that all DISCOS must have two things, technical expertise and financial independence to operate, so as to weed out those who wanted to use Privatisation to make quick money.
“We noted that after he left, many of the DISCOS eventually failed due to lack of technical expertise, and the banks they borrowed money from took over the assets
“It is also commendable that unlike other Power companies, the power generated by Geometric power would not go to the national grid, but go to Aba and 9 other local governments in Abia state as a start.
“At this juncture we call on other leaders and similar professionals especially in Northern Nigeria to emulate this progressive projects in the Southeast for the betterment of the region and the people”. The statement said.
Arewa Think Tank also commended Nuhu Ribadu for detaining Binance Executives for alleged aiding and funding terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, currency speculation and other organized crimes for a long time.
“We want to commend the bold move by Malam Nuhu Ribadu to detain them and demand data to uncover the truth behind the staggering $26 billion in transactions from unidentified sources.
“This has sent a strong message to the cryptocurrency world: Nigeria will not tolerate any financial misconduct that threatens its national security and unity.
“Let’s not forget that Binance has a history of legal troubles, with countries like Canada, Netherlands, Malaysia, and the UK taking action against the platform. The U.S. even imposed a $4.3 billion fine, of which $1.8 billion was a criminal fine.
“The Nigerian government’s swift and decisive action in this situation is a breath of fresh air, especially when compared to the negligence of the previous administration. It’s time for the world to take notice and follow Nigeria’s lead in standing up to financial misconduct”. The statement added.