By Jonathan Ugbal
Cross River Power Commissioner, Thomas Udam says the state government under the leadership of governor Ben Ayade will focus on generating sufficient power to illuminate the state.
Udam who says the state is planning on ensuring that there is adequate power to drive the industrialization plans of the Ayade’s administration expressed hope that Cross Riverians will be patient enough to see the results of the governor’s vision for the state.
The Ogoja born politician disclosed this in an interview with CrossRiverWatch shortly after his return from India where alongside top government functionaries from Cross River, Enugu and Kaduna states as well as the federal government, visited to conclude plans for a Line of Credit (LOC) facility provided for Nigeria by that country.
Udam who said the LOC offered about 8 years ago was “basically for infrastructural development with power been one of the key objectives”, also averred that the trip was “to conclude discussions and possibly bring the discussion to fruition”.
Speaking further, he said “the LOC was offered to Nigeria about 8 years ago and was accessed by three states which are Kaduna, Enugu and Cross River states. We reached the conclusion that the LOC can be drawn which we believe will be happening in a couple of months”.
On power generation, Udam averred that “the focus of this administration is to see how Cross River can attain sufficiency in power generation and transmission to cater for the coming industrialization and the peoples’ needs.
“Power itself is a catalyst for so many things. With power, our economic structures will be developed and job opportunities will be created which fits into His Excellency, the governor’s vision.
“The plan is to ensure that from the hills of Obanliku to the shores of Bakassi, both suburbs and urban areas, every nook and cranny will be illuminated.”
Udam lamented a situation where about 65 percent of the citizenry are not connected to the national grid, adding that the power generating plan will be segmented with each area having one out of several generating systems which include hydro, solar and embedded systems.
He further stated that one of the long term plan of the state government was to not just generate and supply sufficient power but also, sell the excess to the federal government.
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