The German made gadgets are now obsolete – Dam authorities
Only private investors can rescue the Iseyin project – Expert
The multi-million naira electricity turbines bought by the Federal Government in 1982 for the hydro-power project at Ikere Gorge dam in Iseyin, Oyo State, have since become obsolete, Daily Trust can report.
Daily Trust learnt that the turbines were bought during the Shehu Shagari administration in 1982 from a German company and have been abandoned at the dam since then.
The turbines were expected to produce electricity that would benefit several host communities in Oke-Ogun area of the state. Some of these communities still battle with erratic power supply while some don’t even have access to power supply till date.
When this reporter went to the dam site last weekend, it was observed that the turbines now rot away in a shed erected over 36 years ago.
The dam’s Project Manager, Engineer Akingbade Sunday Isaac, told Daily Trust that the dam, presently being managed by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, was built when Olusegun Obasanjo was military head of state to, among other functions, produce not less than six megawatts of electricity. Read more