The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved $2 million being Nigeria’s annual contribution to the West African Power Pool (WAPP).
The WAPP was created in 1999 by Authorities of the West African Heads of State and every country has its own section.
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, confirmed the approval while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting.
Mamman explained that the pool is about having synergy within the West African region, adding that it was for the generation of electricity for the sub-region in order to enjoy steady power supply.
He said, “The Federal Ministry of Power today (Wednesday), presented a memo to council seeking approval for Nigeria’s contribution to the 2020 budget of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), it is a specialized agency of ECOWAS.
“It is important to recognize that participation in this regional market will also generate immediate foreign exchange for Nigeria as oil revenue is dying.
“The pool is about having synergy within the West African region. The decision has been taken by ECOWAS, it’s for the generation of electricity for the region so as to have more constant and steady power supply.
“It’s like the national grid in Nigeria, now we are going to have regional grid. It means in case there is a failure in one country, another can supplement. The $2 million is a contribution.”
The WAPP is made up of all West African countries because each member state contributes annually to the cost of power transmission across the pool.
Explaining more on the approval, he said, “The pool is about trying to have coordination and synergy among West African countries. It’s for the generation of electricity throughout the region so as to have a robust, constant, and steady power supply.
“It’s just like the national grid we have here in Nigeria. Now, we want to have a regional grid. In case, there is a failure in any of the countries, so, there will be an agreement.”
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