By Ogochukwu Isioma
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said the state has the capacity to generate 10,000 Megawatts of electricity with its gas deposits, noting that the government plans to install over 200 kilometres of street lights to light up the state.
Obaseki, while speaking to journalists in Benin City, said his administration is repositioning the state to leverage its natural endowments to drive commerce and economic activities.
According to him, “In the area of power, as you know, Benin City has the largest generating capacity; in this town alone, we have in excess of about 1000 Megawatts of power. There is no excuse or reason why we should be in darkness.
“With the gas resources available to us, let’s not talk about renewable energy, we can generate about 10,000 Megawatts of power in this state and we will do so.”
“We already have the CCETC-Ossiomo Power Plant which is powering most government-owned facilities.
“We started lighting up Edo State beginning from Ring Road, and our goal is that within the shortest possible time, we would have a network of over 200 kilometres of streetlights starting from Benin,” the governor added.
Obaseki further noted, “It’s all about the economy. We have to continue to grow the economy to sustain our future.
“The future is about technology and innovation, so our emphasis as a government is technology and education.
“We have set up the innovation hub and trained more than 32,000 beneficiaries in various Information Communication Technology fields. Edo has the promise and a bright future.
“We will become great again when we take advantage of our natural endowments to drive commerce and economic activities, and we have myriads of opportunities from our location and diversity of our ecology, among others.
“Once we combine all these and focus on our comparative advantage, Edo will become great again.”
