The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has recounted how the death of the Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, in 2024 almost sabotaged the state’s gas-powered electricity project.
Speaking via a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, on Sunday, the governor said that the project was a breakthrough in his administration’s push to provide 24-hour electricity in the state.
He explained that in his first term, he had talks with the Wigwe, which unfortunately collapsed following his death in a plane crash.
“I started this electricity matter with Access Bank and the late Herbert Wigwe. At the point we were to sign an MoU, Wigwe came to my country home in Sampou, and we agreed on everything. Then he left for America, and that was the last of him,” Diri recalled.
He said a friend later offered to deploy a ship-mounted power plant to Yenagoa, but he insisted on a land-based solution that would utilise the state’s gas resources.
“I told my dear friend I do not need a ship on our waters to supply power. I want electricity on the ground here in Yenagoa. We are very rich in oil and gas, and I believe it could be achieved through gas turbines,” he stated.
Diri also stated that the power turbines, commissioned by President Bola Tinubu on April 10, were undergoing test runs in some parts of Yenagoa, the state capital, and would be extended to other areas soon.
He said that the project was a breakthrough in his administration’s push to provide 24-hour electricity in the state.
The Bayelsa helmsman, who was the special guest at the “Feast Day Cultural Fiesta” of St Mathias Catholic Church, Amarata, Yenagoa, said power from the turbines had reached the Opolo axis and was being extended towards the NDDC state headquarters, with supply expected to reach Kpansia and beyond this week.
He explained that the newly installed power plant was electronically controlled and could supply 24-hour electricity to homes in the state.
His words: “Our gas turbine project is not dead as some insinuated. It was actually in its final stages.
“As I speak, power is gradually getting to homes in parts of Yenagoa. I was reliably briefed that it had got to the Opolo axis and getting down to the NDDC state headquarters area. By today or tomorrow, it will get to the Kpansia axis and beyond.
“This gas turbine is not like the one procured by our late leader, Chief Melford Okilo, at Imiringi. Those ones are now analogue. These ones are electronically controlled. So, it is an e-gas turbine. All of them have been tested, and they are ready to supply light day by day.”
Diri further said that the test-run stage had faced some initial challenges due to ageing transmission lines, noting that some cables failed when energised.
According to him, the project’s engineers were working to upgrade the lines and had proposed introducing electronic systems.
“The only challenge we have is that the PHEDC (Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company) lines are very bad. The moment power is supplied from our plant, the lines fail, particularly in areas where the wires are broken. And because our power system is electronic, it trips off,” he said.