… As Russia’s Rosatom chief says Why Nigeria needs nuclear power plant***
Former military Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), said on Monday that his regime never experienced anything such as corruption for the nine years it was in power.
Gowon, whose government ruled from 1966 to 1975, made the statement at the 8th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in Africa hosted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
The former leader said although some of his ministers were being accused of corruption, the regime made sure that it did not happen.
“During our time, I can assure you we did not know anything of the sort such as corruption.
“Yes, some of my ministers were being accused of corruption, but I can assure you it was something that we tried to make sure it did not happen especially in the public service.
“When I left office in 1975, apart from my salary, it was those staff who were with me during the OAU meeting (Kampala, Uganda) that contributed their estacode to make sure that at least I had something to live on after I had been asked to leave office.
“And I said I wish I had done something to provide for the future, and I think it is that experience that probably made those that came after I left office to make sure they provided for the future.”
Gowon said he was saddened by reports in the media suggesting that all the country’s former Heads of States or Presidents were corrupt, noting that such allegations were denigrating the office.
The former military leader, therefore, urged Nigerians to make sure that those elected or appointed into public office were made to be honest, transparent and accountable.
He also challenged participants at the conference to come up with effective measures not only to prevent looting of public funds but also recovery of stolen money, and its use for the people.
In the meantime, a Vice President of Russia’s nuclear power giant, Rosatom, has made a case for the benefits of nuclear-powered electricity for Nigerians saying it would provide a cheaper and stable source of electricity pricing – in the long run – borne out of lower operating costs.
Viktor Polikarpov, Vice-President, Sub-Saharan Africa, said nuclear energy offers lower operating costs – as opposed to other energy sources.
“It’s in view of the fact, the cost of uranium, which serves as nuclear fuel is comparatively low – when compared with fossil fuels, used in powering gas and coal turbines,” Mr Polikarpov said in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.
The Nigerian government signed an agreement with the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation last October to build and operate a nuclear power plant, the first of its kind on the continent, as well as a research centre that would house a nuclear research reactor.
The agreement was a furtherance of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, and Rosatom for the construction of four nuclear power plants at the cost of $20 billion (more than N6 trillion). The four plants will have a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts by 2035.
The agreement came amidst safety concerns about the use of nuclear energy in Nigeria.
Nigeria currently relies on gas and hydro power plants for its electricity supplies.
Mr Polikarpov said even though the cost of constructing a nuclear power plant is quite high, the cost implications of operating them are quite low.
“The average lifespan of a modern nuclear reactor is 60-80 years. This variable, when taken into consideration, make the expense of delivering power from a nuclear plant quite low.
“If the cost of uranium doubles, for instance, the cost of electricity produced by nuclear will only increase marginally. This cannot be said about conventional energy sources.
“However, if the price of coal doubles, it implies that the final cost of electricity will be 70 percent more; same applies to gas. However, the cost of uranium, which is produced on a nuclear power plant, has just a three percent implication on the cost of electricity. Even if the cost of uranium rises, electricity consumers may not even feel the little impact it would have on electricity.”
Mr Polikarpov said electricity consumers in Nigeria would benefit hugely from nuclear energy.
“If you have predictable prices for electricity for the next 60 years, which is the minimum time to operate a modern nuclear power plant, it really helps to grow the economy.”
Despite its benefits, Nigeria’s poor maintenance culture is at the heart of the vigorous opposition to nuclear-powered electricity, activists say.
Achike Chude, a civil society activist, said countries with advanced technologies, such as Japan, had been unable to nuclear-related disasters in their region.
“You want to believe that any government in this country that is thinking of the nuclear option is not just a lazy government but an extremely irresponsible government,” said Mr Chude, the Vice Chairman of Joint Action Front, a network of labour and civil society groups.
“And the reasons are very clear: they have not been able to generate enough energy with technologies that are much more accessible in the past decades despite the billions of dollars that had been put into energy generation in Nigeria.
“We have failed spectacularly in generation and transmission. We have not been able to maintain our road infrastructure that does not need any serious technology. So on what basis are we going nuclear, to an advanced technology which is exceedingly dangerous?”
The Citizen with additional report from Premium
