THE Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has completed a power distribution project aimed at boosting electricity supply at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, in Ondo State.
The 2.5MVA 33/11kV injection substation with associated 33kV/11kV & LT lines, as well as as three 500kVA distribution substation transformers, is expected to improve learning conditions for students by providing longer hours of power supply.
Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who commissioned the project at the weekend described it as a landmark achievement in the power sector.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, appreciated the Federal Government, through the management of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), for the project executed as part of the initiative to provide electricity in higher institutions of learning in Ondo State and across the country.
“Looking at the technical details of this project and its benefits, an upgrade from 2.5MVA to 7.5MVA, I believe will address two critical areas of concern to our administration. This is another landmark achievement in the power sector.
“There is no gainsaying that power supply is very significant to our individual and national lives. Nigeria has had a long history of problematic public power supply. But when the APC government came on board, we promised to change the narrative through massive infrastructural development through policy direction and necessary reform to increase supply to the Nigerian populace,” he said.
Access to adequate electricity in educational facilities like Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, the governor said, would improve learning processes.
He said the electricity project would enable night academic activities in the campus, describing it as critical to academic pursuit by students.
Also, Akeredolu observed that providing electricity in campuses in the night would aid security operations and discourage criminal activities, while also increasing economic activities on the campus and its environs.
With regular power supply on campuses, the governor said students would have access to electricity to effectively utilise educational appliances and teaching aids like computers and internet facilities.
These, he said, would enhance educational activities and further grant students access to additional online educational resources, improve their assimilation rate and narrow the digital divide through information and communication technology.
NDPHC Executive Director, Networks, Ifeoluwa Oyedele, said the Federal Government was determined to take power to the people at the grassroots.
Oyedele said the NDPHC has constructed and commissioned over 350 injection sub-stations with a combined capacity of about 3,540mw across the country.
The company, he said, has further constructed about 2,600km of 11KV and 4600km of 33kV distribution lines to improve access to electricity and quality of power supply to consumers.
The Rector of the polytechnic Gani Ogundahunsi said the project would assist the school in several areas.
“This facility is going to help us in distribution and every other thing as it pertains to power situation in this polytechnic.
“It is going to be a massive help to us and as such, we are extremely grateful to NDPHC and to Federal Government for this project, to help alleviate the suffering that many of our educational institutions are going through,” he said.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.