Iliyasu Abdullahi Bah
Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched NASENI asset restoration programme as part of ongoing effort by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to restore and revive nations industrial and agricultural capacity.
This was posted on his official facebook handle. “The programme led by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Service Infrastructure (NASENI) aims to restore 26,000 serviceable heavy duty machines and repurpose nearly 500,000 component scraps that have been laying idle in the country”.
Speaking during the launch of the Programme at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanisation Farm Centre in Maiduguri, the Vice President, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said the programme’s objective is to reduce waste, cut unnecessary spending, and power national development through localised innovation and sustainable asset management.
The Vice President also noted NASENI’s contributions to national development through technology transfer, local engineering, and adaptive innovation, especially in compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofitting, renewable energy, and agricultural mechanisation.
“We can’t create durable solutions to Nigerian problems unless we localise global technologies. Relevant agencies must be supported to point us towards a stable nation and a promising future,” the Vice President said.
Praising the leadership of NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, and the Vice President, noted that the agency’s renewed direction is marked by “vision, urgency, and clarity of purpose.
“The direction NASENI is headed is driven by action, impact, innovation, and awareness of what the nation needs,” he said.
On his part, NASENI chairman Khalil Suleiman Halilu emphasised that the objective of the programme is to reduce waste, cut unnecessary spending and power national development through localised innovation and sustainable asset management.
Earlier, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, recalled that under the stewardship of Vice President Shettima as Governor of Borno State, 1,000 tractors and implements were procured, along with 1,000 units of planters; 250 units each of groundnut diggers, fertiliser broadcasters, rotovators, and bailers, as well as 25 units of combined harvesters, which is the single most significant agricultural machinery investment in the state’s history.
“His training as an agricultural economist shone through every policy and decision; today, that foresight has brought us here. Our launch of the National Asset Restoration Programme would not have been possible without that foundational investment.
“It is not just a moment of celebration; it is a powerful testimony to the importance of continuity in leadership. And today, this proud son of Borno, now Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is championing the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR – an agenda in which agriculture remains central to national development,” the Governor said.
Gov. Zulum noted that Nigeria requires a minimum of 750,000 functional tractors to meet its agricultural needs, yet less than 10 per cent are currently operational nationwide.
Shortly after commissioning the National Asset Restoration Programme, VP Shettima proceeded to Borno State University where he commissioned power infrastructure projects executed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC).
The power project implemented under the Distribution Intervention Projects includes a 1X7.5MVA, 33/11KV injection substation, 3km of 33KV line, 2.5km of 11KV line, 2.5km of LT line, and 3 nos 500KVA distribution transformers.
The project, implemented under the Distribution Intervention Projects, will significantly improve electricity supply to the university and surrounding communities.
Shettima said the project aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu administration’s vision to enhance infrastructure development and boost economic activities across the country.
The Vice-President said that the project would impact positively on the lives of the people of the university and environs, saying, “power is life, life is power.”
On his part, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, said “the challenge of low voltage is really affecting access to power supply and we are glad to have 7.5MVA injected substation in Borno.
“Indeed, this will increase the quality of power supply to Maiduguri metropolis and the environs.
”This substation will ensure quality of power supply to the Borno State University, our own Teaching Hospital which is under construction and indeed to many communities in Borno.
”We remain grateful to the NDPHC for all the support that they have been rendering towards ensuring affordable and quality energy supply to the citizens of Nigeria, ” Zulum said.
The Managing Director, NDPHC, Jennifer Adighije, said the project was an affirmation of the company’s commitment to supporting President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Adighije added that the project would support the Borno State Government to attain universal access to electricity.
”This is the second distribution project that will be inaugurated in Borno and we expect two more before the end of the year.
“This is in line with our mandate, to scale power generation with the associated transmission and distribution network infrastructure, to ensure and attain access to quality, reliable and uninterruptible electricity to the last mile,” she said.
Similarly, the Managing Director, Yola Electricity Distribution Company, YEDC, Abdulrahman Isa, said the project would impact the university, accommodate its expansion, and improve the voltage profile and the availability.
He added that it would also impact the immediate community outside the university, including the 500 Housing Unit Estate up to Auno and Benisheik.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Babagana Gutti, thanked Tinubu, Shettima, Borno State Government and the NDPHC for locating the project in the institution.
Recall that University of Maiduguri years back has been disconnected from electricity because of high cost and low supply of power to Maiduguri and its environs.
