Bayelsa Gas Plant Commissioned By Tinubu Has Never Been Turned On, FIJ (pic)

The 60 megawatt gas turbine independent power plant inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu and Duoye Diri, the governor of Bayelsa State, on Thursday, is not working.

FIJ learnt on Monday that the power plant inaugurated by Tinubu a few days after Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, represented him at the inauguration of an incomplete bridge in Lagos, has never been turned on.

According to Diri, the gas plant is the backbone of the Bayelsa Independent Power Plant (IPP) and is meant to reduce the state’s reliance on the national grid, which has been plagued with frequent system collapses. The power plant was initially scheduled for commissioning in March.

At the time, the state government claimed that out of the eight gas turbines, six had been installed and the entire project was 95 per cent complete.

On the inauguration day, the state governor told engineers working on the project that the president would be the one to switch on the plant upon arrival.

“Do you know the president is coming? The president wants to see the light. He is the one who will come and switch it on for everybody in the state to enjoy the light,” he said in one of the pre-inauguration videos.

Tarinipre Francis, a journalist and indigene of Bayelsa, told FIJ on Monday that despite Diri’s promise that Tinubu would turn on the turbine upon arrival, half of the state, including Yenagoa, the state capital, slept in darkness.

Francis stated that since the inauguration, most residents have still not been supplied with power, even though the gas plant was the crux of the president’s visit.

In pictures from the night of the inauguration shared with FIJ, nearly every part of the state was in pitch darkness, including areas around the installed turbines.

Francis said that most streets were illuminated by streetlights, while the power supply promised by Diri was nowhere to be found.

She stated that areas like Ekeki, Kpansia, Agudama-Epie, Okutukutu, Etegwe, Azikoro, Biogbolo and Ox-bow Lake have been relying on generators.

She added that the only area with power that night was Ekeki Housing Estate, which had made a special arrangement independent of the state government.

Francis noted that while some residents had minimal power supply before the commissioning, most have not had any for months.

When FIJ called the phone number listed on the website of the Bayelsa State government for comments on the turbine power plants and the state government’s promise to Bayelsa residents, the line rang twice with no response.