12 October 2016, Lagos – Amid multiple challenges to economic recovery and diversification in Nigeria, a corporate chieftain and an energy researcher have canvassed deployment of innovative power infrastructure for solutions.
Managing Director of UAC Property Development Company, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, stated that the power sector in general, and alternative power generation and distributed energy system, in particular, are vital in helping Nigeria move from recession to economic stability. Speaking at the Seventh Edition of the Alternative Power Exhibition in Lagos,
Ogunniran stated that the only bail out required in the power sector was to leapfrog into creative alternative energy sources and make it available to Nigerians to tap into for sustainable power.
Speaking also at the event, Dean, Centre for Research, Innovation and Discovery, Covenant University, Professor Samuel Tita Wara, lamented that a number of countries, like Nigeria, and countries in Asian-Pacific region and sub-Saharan Africa still rely heavily on the conventional centralised power generation, as such there is a great need to re-evaluate the power generation process and adopt more efficient technologies for power delivery.
He said, “Why billions of people are lacking the basic infrastructure of electricity vis-à-vis energy production, can simply be understood by taking an in-depth look at the issues surrounding the affected countries.
“In many of the countries, especially those in Africa, connections to the central grid remains the exclusive preserve of a special few.
“Often time, the grid lines do not reach the rural areas even in the urban and peri-urban areas, uninterrupted power supply is nonexistent and the total electricity being generated by these nations cannot fully cater for their population.”
- Vanguard