Vice President Kassim Shettima emphasized that Nigeria’s optimal functionality depends on the South East achieving industrialization with sufficient power supply.
Drawing a parallel with the industrious nature of the Jews, he highlighted the importance of economic enterprise and educational ambition in the region.
Shettima revealed his rejection of a proposal to disconnect the South East from electricity due to a debt profile, expressing President Bola Tinubu’s positive intentions for the nation.
He commended the South East and its Governors as exemplary contributors to the nation’s progress.
The Vice President made the remarks during the launch of South East Business Roundtable “Light up Nigeria Program”, conducted by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, in Enugu, on Monday.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State said that the ‘Light-Up Nigeria Project’ signals a new dawn for power and industrialisation of the South East region, noting that the initiative aligns with his administration’s disruptive approach to governance underpinned by thinking outside the box.
According to Vice President Shettima, “We have to make the South East work; we’re targeting the south east for a two million job for women and the youths. We’re proceeding to Abia state to commission the power station built by the elder statesman, Prof Barth Nnaji and we will also commission some road projects and back to Enugu to commission the Smart school because education is the greatest gift you can give a generation.”
In his remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of NDPHC, Engr. Chinedu Ugbo said that the forum provided an opportunity to interact with the Vice President and the business clusters in the south east, adding that the lunch was also for the South-East phase of the strategic collaboration between NDPHC and other project parties to provide steady and reliable electricity supply to industrial and business clusters across Nigeria.
