A rare bright spot in Nigeria’s energy crisis emerges as President Bola Tinubu commissioned the Afam II power plant recently. In a country plagued by power outages and failing infrastructure, the commissioning of the Afam II power plant is being commended by a prominent scientist in Rivers State, Engr. Cecilia Desmond Akaya, as a step in the right direction.
“Nigeria has struggled with less than 5,000 megawatts for over 200 million people. It will be recalled that previous administrations promised reforms, but delivery remained weak. Afam II Power Plant is part of a broader push to revamp power generation in the country”, she said
Speaking on the significance of the project, Engr. Cecilia Akaya described the move made by President Bola Tinubu to give hope to Nigerians through the completion of the all-important milestone as a welcome development. She stressed that this had shown the President Bola Tinubu administration’s willingness to complete legacy projects.
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Engr Cecilia Akaya, a Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri trained Computer Scientist, noted that the important aspect of the project is distribution challenges, which she said needed proper attention and action by the government.
According to her, “Generation without stable transmission and billing reforms will still limit the impact. “Questions remain on long-term maintenance and transparency. I, therefore, cautioned that generation is only one piece of the puzzle which the government should attach importance on,” Engr Cecilia Akaya advocated.
Concerning the outcome of the event, Engr. Cecilia Akaya applauded the move but wants more reliability, stressing that it is a welcome development, but remains skeptical. On lasting solutions to the problem of the distribution of electricity to Nigerians, Akaya calls for the decentralization of the national grid system to allow for regional mini-grids.
Engr. Cecilia Akaya further urged the government to ensure public-private partnerships for long-term maintenance. “Afam II Power Plant is a step forward, but Nigeria needs systematic reforms to make such wins impactful. Power is restored, but the question remains: “Can it be sustained?”, Engr Cecilia Akaya queried.
