Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A waste to energy project is about to be launched in Ogun State and it is sponsored by the European Union (EU).
The project is part of the EU’s-sponsored feasibility study aimed at improving power supply in Ogun State.
Billed to be launched on Wednesday, November 9 in Abeokuta by the Ogun State Governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, the project, which is to be carried out by the state government in collaboration with Lafarge-Holcim Africa, seek to convert waste generated in the state to energy.
Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Bolaji Oyeleye, who disclosed this in a statement, said, “The project, when completed, will translate our waste to wealth, improve power supply, and promote green energy. It will also bring to an end the present practice of dumping waste in landfill or dump sites, in line with our goal of zero waste to dump site.
“The fruit of this effort will be the establishment of thermal power plants in Ogun State with the pilot plant in Abeokuta.”
Mr Oyeleye added that the project has received acceptability both from within and outside Nigeria and this is a confirmation of the confidence that people have in the unrelenting efforts of the Governor Amosun-led administration in Ogun State.
“In this wise, the state government secured the support of the European Union (EU) which has agreed to sponsor the feasibility study for the project and in fact made funds available for the immediate take off of the feasibility study by a team of international consultants,” Mr Oyeleye said.
The Commissioner, who revealed that the feasibility study will involve field trips and house-to-house enumeration, appealed to the people of Ogun State to cooperate fully with the team of assessors whenever they visit their homes and organisations in the course of the exercise.
“This project is for all the good people of Ogun State and indeed the first of its kind in Nigeria. Let us join hands as the state government continues to work assiduously to give us the dividends of democracy,” he said.
Expected to witness the event is a delegation from the EU, Lafarge-Holcim Africa, members of the Ogun State Executive Council and other stakeholders.
