By our Correspondent

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, says the Light-Up Nigeria Project signals a new dawn for power and industrialisation of the South East region, saying other sectors would fall in place once power challenge is fixed.

Mbah, while commending the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for coming up with the project to ramp up power supply to industrial clusters in the South East, enjoined industrialists in the region to key-in fully and take advantage of the initiative to remove any bottlenecks faced regarding power availability.

He said Light-up Nigeria Project aligned with his administration’s disruptive approach to governance underpinned by thinking outside the box.

The governor spoke at the South East Business Roundtable and flag-off of the Light-up Nigeria Project – South East, by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima in Enugu on Monday.

“The Light up Nigeria Project Today is, in my view, a new dawn for power in the South East and one of the most innovative initiatives in the power sector. This project is of critical importance since it deals with the power sector, which I believe is pivotal to economic growth. Indeed, if we fix power, a lot of other sectors would fall into place.

“This project ensures efficient dispatch of power to the largest consumers via bilateral sales agreements, which overides the existing bulk purchase arrangements through NBET, leveraging on a willing buyer, willing seller structure.

“The Programme will certainly bring improved access to affordable power to the South East. This will in turn result in reduced power costs for the productive sector and enable them improve enganced productivity and generate jobs. This is critical in this day where the country is pushing to boost production and drive-up exports to ultimately shore up our domestic currency.

“Therefore, this project aligns completely with our approach to governance in Enugu in the sense that it is a very disruptive initiative, which shows a deep ability to think outside the box. Today’s Nigeria requires a marked departure from business as usual to business unusual.

He pledged his government’s continued support to industrialists and other private investors across the state to complement the undeniable boost that the Light-up Nigeria Project would bring.