NAIRAMETRICS
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will come to an end on May 29th, 2023, leaving behind a mixed record of achievements and challenges.
One of the notable legacies of the administration is the initiation and development of several energy projects in the country. As the Buhari administration prepares to step down, there are concerns that some of these projects run the risk of being left unfinished.
In this article, we will examine six significant energy projects worth billions of dollars that the Buhari administration has initiated and their current status.
Oloibiri Oil Museum and Research Center (Ongoing): On February 8, the Federal Executive Council approved the construction of the N117 billion Oloibiri Oil Museum and Research Center. The centre is being promoted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC), and the Bayelsa State Government.
The museum will store historic data, equipment, and tools used in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for posterity, and a functional research centre where prototypes can be tested and validated. Julius Berger has been awarded the contract to execute the project.
James Akwaji, a production engineer, expressed concern that the Oloibiri Oil Museum and Research Center project may not be completed before President Buhari leaves office in May 2023. He fears that the next administration may abandon the project, and the funds allocated for it may not be utilized for that purpose since the administration that initiated the project would have left office.
Siemens Power Deal (Ongoing): The $2.3 billion Siemens Power Deal, a bilateral agreement between the Nigerian and German governments, was initiated in 2018 under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to double Nigeria’s installed power generation and distribution capacity.
An Implementation agreement was signed on July 19, 2019, between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Siemens. The PPI is structured into three phases: quick fixes in the transmission and distribution grid network to increase operational capacity from 5GW to 7GW, further upgrades to increase capacity from 7GW to 11GW, and upgrading the grid from 11GW to 25GW, including building power generation plants.
Despite facing some delays, the project remains ongoing. Peter Obi of the Labour Party has pledged to complete the project if he is elected as the next president. During a presentation at Chatham House, a UK-based policy institute, he said:
“We will immediately complete the $2.3 billion Nigeria-Siemens network improvement deal to achieve 7,000 MW stable capacity by the end of 2023, 11,000 megawatts by 2024, and 25,000 megawatts by 2025.”
The CEO of Habitat Group, Olokunbola Gboyega, supports the Siemens project in Nigeria, believing it will contribute to the country’s growth by adding 7,000 MW to the national grid. He suggests that Nigeria needs around 100,000 MW for its development and recommends that the next president should focus on developing more hydropower projects to address the power sector’s capacity issues.
However, the project has failed to live up to expectations since the death of the former chief of staff to the president, Abba Kyari in 2020. While it remains a major initiative of the current president, likely, it may not ever materialize. The Nigerian Electricity Sector continues to face a major funding shortfall caused by perennial deficiencies in the market structure.
