Kenneth Udeh from Abuja
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State on Monday identified and lauded the significant roles played by the state’s former Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in bringing the Aba Geometric Power Plant to fruition.
Governor Otti reserved special commendations for Senator Kalu who also chairs the Senate Committee on Privatisation in the current 10th Assembly during the commissioning of the Power Plant in Aba’s bustling commercial hub on Monday.
In his address at the groundbreaking ceremony, Otti recognized the Lawmaker’s pivotal role in initiating the project, attributing its success to his leadership.
As a former MD/CEO of the now-defunct Diamond Bank, Otti reminisced about the Abia-North Senator in securing essential waivers to facilitate the power plant during his tenure as a banker.
“Consider it appropriate to appreciate the efforts of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, who gave the initial waivers to Geometric, thereby partially derisking the transaction.
“If those waivers were not in place, I’m not too sure as a banker, I would have touched,” Otti said while underscoring Kalu’s dedication to the Geometric power plant, he emphasized, underscoring Kalu’s commitment to the Geometric power plant.
Geometric, Nigeria’s pioneering private power generation and distribution company, owned by former Minister of Power Prof. Barth Nnaji, boasts a capacity of generating 141MGW of power, expandable to 188 MGW.
Vice President Kashim Shettima; Director General of World Trade Organization, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister for Power, Adeboye Adelabu; former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha; the Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe; the Chairman, Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Linus Nto; and his Enugu State Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo;Senator Ifeanyi Uba representing Anambra South; Senator Austin Akobundu, representing Abia Central, Rep. Obi Aguocha, and a host of other National Assembly members graced the colourful event.
The plant pledges to provide uninterrupted electricity to Aba city and other nine LGAs of the Aba Ring-Fenced Area, marking a pivotal moment in the region’s energy landscape.
This development could catalyze industrialization in the city, a vital commercial hub of the nation.
Geometric Power is billed to produce 188 Megawatts (MW) and is currently Nigeria’s only integrated power project, as it has its own embedded power plant, which enables it to generate and distribute its power, separating it from other electricity companies that either generate or distribute electric power, as none can generate and distribute power as it would.
Findings revealed the electricity generation company in the Geometric Power Group (GP) is Geometric Power Aba Ltd, (GPAL), while the distribution company is Aba Power Limited Electrical (APLE), which services nine (9) of the seventeen (17) local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State.
These nine Local Government Areas, Aba South, Aba North, Osisioma Ngwa, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Isiala-Ngwa South and Isiala-Ngwa North collectively make up the Aba Ring-fenced Area where GPAL in charge of producing and distributing electricity.
The brain behind the project, Bartholomew Nnaji, also known as Barth Nnaji, is a professor of mechanical engineering and the founder and chairman of the indigenous power company, Geometric Power Limited (GPL).