The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has advised the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission against the plan to build four nuclear power plants to generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity each.
The minister made known his advice during a meeting with the commission, according to a statement by his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, on Wednesday.
Adelabu received the acting Chairman of the Commission, Anthony Ekedewa, in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, where he made the remarks, according to the statement.
At the meeting, Ekedewa was said to have briefed the minister on the activities of the commission, which he said was established in 1976 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as a military head of state.
He said, “As a renewable energy source, nuclear energy could power the entire country.”
He stressed that the commission is proposing the establishment of nuclear power plants with the capacity to generate about 1,200MW.
“We want to work and partner with you in the area of power generation. We can be a base load for the country, and we have two possible sites, Geregu in Kogi State and Idu in Akwa Ibom State. We have carried out the feasibility studies. This collaboration is part of our energy policy, but we are, however, limited by resources to undertake this project,” Ekedewa said.
Reacting, Adelabu reportedly “advised against the proposed establishment of four power plants with a capacity to generate 1,200MW each, by the commission.”
Although he said modular nuclear reactors were fine, especially with the way the government has decentralised the sector, Adelabu asked how much of the conventional sources of energy have been exploited.
