The Honourable Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Barrister Seun Temilolu Ashamu was a guest of ace broadcast Journalist, Isaac Brown on Fresh FM 105.9, Ibadan. The highly cerebral Commissioner spoke extensively on the various legacy projects the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde embarked upon under Omituntun 1.0 and how the projects will boost the economy of the state and its IGR under Omituntun 2.0. Excerpt:
Where did we start?
Where are we?
Where are we going?
How do we get there?
A fact-check of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, OYSG.Oyo State Government
Oyo State Government Feedback
ON LIGHT-UP OYO:
As an administration, we are auditing what has been done, what is left to be done so that we get value for the money spent.
We owe it to the people to do our jobs and we will continue to do our best in the interest of the people.
We have seen infrastructure on ground, hence the lights came on. But there were certain supply chain delays delays with the project which necessitated the need to use diesel to power the lights, which was not what we signed up for.
We are currently auditing the infrastructure and we have given ourselves 6 weeks to come back to the people of the state.
ON GAS AVAILABILITY
Shell has committed to provide an upside of 60million standard cubic feet of gas.
The Statewide Gas Masterplan is complete and will be made public this month.
We expect first gas in 2024.
ON IPP:
Work is ongoing
It’s 1MW Solar 10MW Gas
I inspected the engines earlier this year.
It will power 12 healthcare centres, secretariat, public lighting and selected schools. It will also be extended to residential areas. It will be completed before the end of the year
ON ALTERNATIVE POWER:
We expect the Bill for the Oyo State Regulatory Commission to become law within a few weeks. Work started on the Commission about 18-months ago, with the support of the International Funders.
We have positioned Oyo State ahead of the curve. The Constitutional Amendment is an added advantage towards where we are headed. Many State will just have to start work but Oyo State will be reaping the benefits of our ground work already.
Part of the positioning is that Oyo State has already been put into Clusters. In each cluster, we have a combination of commercial, industrial and residential off-take, which makes projects bankable.
Oyo State’s licensing arrangements are more favourable that what obtains nationally so we will secure that investment.
We already have Development Finance Partners and institutional investors who are ready to finance projects in the state. We also encourage local investment. The priority is the access and availability of the power.
Without doing that ground work, we will not be able to take advantage of the constitution amendments. We have done the work.
ON SOLAR
Our policies meant 600KW was done at Nigerian Breweries. To be upgraded to 3MW
Our policies meant 1MW was done at FanMilk
23 health centres powered by solar. In the last year alone over 60,000 patients attended to using these solar systems. This was done by investment with capital invested by the private sector.
Over 1500 solar streetlights deployed to markets and strategic locations. We want to extend the entire state.
ON MINI-GRIDS
9,000 Oyo State residents directly impacted
22 Mini Grids since 2019
These are 22 communities that never had electricity before and the Ministry brought the investment
We have surveys of over 100 more communities ready for similar investment. That’s potentially another 170,000 people to be directly impacted.
NATIONAL GRID EXTENSION:
Our policy was to first provide the land and waiver for Right of Way for Transmission projects. That’s an inter-ministerial issue fronted by Ministry of Energy.
The Substation in Oyo has been completed and one leg is already evacuated. We will support with others.
The one in Ogbomosho is over 80% complete. There has been significant progress on the ones in Saki, Igboora and Jericho, Ibadan.
ON SOLID MINERALS:
The gemstone industry exists in Oyo State and we have partnered with FG to build a facility in Ojoo, Ibadan where those involved in the gemstone can come and conduct their business in the facility with the security provided by government.
There are provisions for value addition which means those stones can be cut, polished and turned into jewellery right here in Oyo State. It helps the economy grow at all levels because they will not take our raw product out of Oyo state but process the product here in Oyo State which creates jobs and also provide more income for everyone involved.
We expect our IGR to increase because of this.
The Ministry is saddled with long lead projects that are designed to secure the future of the State. The snowball is about to start rolling. Watch this space and things are looking very positive for Oyo State Energy and Mineral Resources.
Thank you very much for having me and for the people of the state for voting for Governor Seyi Makinde.
