By Atoyebi Nike
The Sokoto State Government has completed its multi-billion naira Independent Power Plant (IPP) and is preparing for power evacuation.
The announcement was made by the State Commissioner for Energy, Alhaji Sanusi Danfulani, during a tour of the facility with journalists. “The plant is completed and according to our technical experts, it is satisfactory. Our team and the contractor will now determine the next steps,” he said.
The 38-megawatt plant was initially awarded in 2008 to US-based Vulcan Capital Energy at N3.8 billion with a six-month completion timeline, but the project faced repeated delays until 2019. Additional funds of N1.7 billion and N1.5 billion were later injected by past and present administrations to bring the plant to completion.
Danfulani thanked Governor Ahmed Aliyu for releasing funds for rehabilitation and completion and acknowledged former Governor Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, who initiated the project.
Engineer Abubakar Shehu, Director of Electrical Services, confirmed that some plant components were test-run last week but said decisions on power evacuation and distribution would be made by the state government and relevant authorities.
