By Thompson ABISOLA
The United Kingdom chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that President Muhamnadu Buhari’s recent official visit to China is already yielding positive results for Nigerians.
The leader of the chapter, Mr Ade Omole, said this on Sunday in Abuja. He said the President deserved commendation.
He stressed that the visit was already yielding results, especially with the assurances from the Joint Venture Partners handling the 3,050 Megawatts Mambilla Hydro-electric Plant project.
Omole added that the fact that work would commence on the project early in 2019 as assured by the contractors, was a good development that deserved praise.
He recalled that President Buhari received the assurance at a meeting with Prof Lyu Ze Xiang, the President of Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), the construction company handling the project, in Beijing, China during the visit.
“Electricity is key to national growth and a major feature for business sustainability.
“We understand how critical the Mambilla project is to your country and we will take a serious look at it and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic importance.
“We fully understand the importance of this project to the economic and social well-being of Nigeria, ”Xiang had said during the visit,”
Omole noted that arrangements on the commencement of the project in early 2019 had reached advanced stage, adding that the APC-led Federal Government was doing everything possible to better the lives of Nigerians.
“The contractor had assured that pre-commencement work would begin with access to site and putting in place the necessary support infrastructure such as power, water and transportation,” he said.
He further said when completed, the Mambilla Hydro-electric Plant would provide 3050 megawatts of electricity to Nigerians, thereby adding to the power grid for the country’s development.
President Buhari had asked for support from China at a meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, for the country’s aspiration to build the 3050 Megawatts Mambila hydroelectric power project in Taraba.
This followed the signing of $328million for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project by the two countries.
The concessional loan agreement between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Kemi Adesoun and Wang Xiaotoa, Director-General, International Development Agency, in the presence of Presidents of the two countries.
Nigeria and China had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the One Belt One Road Initiative.
