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The administration of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has received several bashes from not a few Adamawa stakeholders, including residents and business operators in the state for abandoning the Kiri dam electricity projected conceived, initiated, and embarked upon by ex-governor Murtala Nyako.
The stakeholders lamented that even in the face of the accusations trailing the Fintiri administration over the abandoned electricity project, the state government has maintained an uncomfortable silence.
To underscore the unease of some of the residents and stakeholders is to recall that a former Senator representing Adamawa Northern zone, Senator Ishaku Abbo, had only last week, while speaking with our correspondent over his controversial removal from the Senate by the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja, among other issues decried the high cost of living across the country and also criticised successive Adamawa state government’s inability to collaborate with the federal government to upgrade the Kiri dam in Shelleng LGA into a electricity generation dam that can generate at least 35MW of electricity for the state and its environs.
Abbo thus urged Fintiri to “focus more on projects that have direct bearing on rural dewellers than building flyovers across the state capital.”
A resident who identified himself as Mohammed Usman, who has a welding shop along Hospital Road observed that the power outage has affected his business very badly since he depends more on electricity supply from the national grid for his work as, according to him, “petrol is no longer a go area for me to power my generator for work”
He urged the government to think outside the box on how to generate electricity from Kiri dam, saying, “it will reduce unemployment and generate more revenue for the state.”
Mr. Johnson Sanga, who operates a dry cleaning shop along the Airport Road also spoke in a similar tone as he disclosed to our correspondent that he had to sack 18 of his staff due the high cost of buying gas to power his machines.
“I apply for a loan from my bank so that I can buy and install solar to power my work tools. If i do not get this loan, it means that very soon, I will close down my business, “ he bemoaned.
Some of the top government officials that spoke to our correspondent on condition of annonimity averred that the Kiri dam project is too expensive for the state to embark upon when there are other pressing issues needing urgent attention.
While speaking on the issue, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mr. Solomon Kwamanga said that the world is moving towards renewable energy and that Adamawa State can not be left behind.
He further told Arewa PUNCH on Monday that with the intense sun that shines across Adamawa State, investment in solar power is the best for the state.
“Solar power system is cheaper more flexible in terms of maintenance. So, based on our resources, for now, the state is more comfortable with the solar power system project, “ he said.
He pointed out that the governor has already started the solar power system project in the state.
“The solar power system has started at Adamawa Television, Adamawa publishing company, schools and other institutions, “ he said.
However, Kwamanga added, “If the federal government can come in to join hands with the state government on the Kiri dam electricity project, it will be fantastic, and the government will appreciate it.”
Arewa PUNCH reports that the Kiri dam electricity project was initiated by the impeached ex-governor Murtala Nyako who was removed from office by Fintiri when he (Fintiri) was the Speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly in 2018.
In 2008, the former governor, Nyako, engaged a U.S. firm to perform a feasibility study of the 35-MW Kiri hydroelectric project at the existing Kiri Dam.
The U.S. Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders and Nyako signed a grant agreement on October 17, providing US$467,000 from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to finance the technical assistance to the state.
The ex-Adamawa government under Nyako had earlier requested a feasibility study to examine the potential for adding the 35-MW hydro plant to the Kiri Dam to provide a reliable source of electricity to the state and it environs.
The U.S. Embassy had also informed the Nyako administration and other stakeholders that the Kiri Dam feasibility study, being the first of its kind in Nigeria, was designed to be an example of how a feasibility study should be structured for successful independent power projects and public-private partnerships in Nigeria.
The project was to include the hydro plant, a transmission line to the national grid, and a separate transmission line to Yola, the state capital.
The feasibility study was to also focus on technical, financial, and economic analysis of the project; review of related regulatory issues; estimation of project costs; and an implementation plan.
The dam, located in Shelleng Local Government Area in southern Adamawa, is a major water reservoir that currently provides the water for irrigation of the cane plantation of the Dangote Sugar Refinery in Numan.
Only last month, the Federal Government had begun moves to ensure the utilisation of the dam to generate electricity.
The move is in line with a bid to expand the sources of electricity for the country’s economy.
During a facility tour of the dam last month to ascertain its integrity, the Director of Dams and Reservoir Operations of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Ali Dalla, said the government has started a retrofitting exercise to update the dam for the purpose of power generation.
“We have found out that the dam is capable of generating electricity. By the time the study is completed, further information will be revealed about the capacity of the power to be generated,” Ali Dalla said.
When our correspondent called the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Energy Development, Alhaji Adamu Atiku, his phone rang severally, but he did not pick up the calls. Similarly, he did not respond to the WhatsApp message sent to him at the time this report was filed.
