I’m building biggest power plant in Nigeria — Davido’s father
Adedeji Adeleke, father of Nigerian music star Davido, has announced that he’s constructing what will become the largest power plant in Nigeria.
The billionaire businessman revealed this while addressing the Seventh-Day Adventist General Conference Annual Council in Maryland, USA.
Speaking as a representative from the West-Central Africa Division, Adeleke shared the challenges he faced in his power venture, which his company, Pacific Energy, is handling in collaboration with Chinese engineering firms.
Adeleke, a Baptist by faith, shared how he clashed with certain government officials during the approval stages.
READ ALSO: I generate 15 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity – Davido’s father
According to him, one official boldly declared that his power project wouldn’t “see the light of day.” However, refusing to accept this as final, Adeleke sought divine intervention through prayer.
“I am a businessman in Nigeria. I’m into the electricity business. I own a power plant; I generate about 15 percent of the electricity needs for Nigeria. I have Chinese engineering companies that work for me. I’m building the biggest power plant in Nigeria that will be completed in January 2025. It is a 1,250-megawatt power plant.”
The project, valued at around $2 billion, faced roadblocks during the design phase, with environmental concerns leading to the denial of a necessary permit.
Adeleke recounted how one official bluntly told him that the project wouldn’t move forward.
“So I left, disappointed, and I told my Chinese friends that unfortunately, we have difficulty, and this project is going to stall. Meanwhile, the project is worth about $2 billion. In the process, a lot of money had already gone into the design and preliminaries before we got to the stage where we would need a permit and then break ground. So my Chinese friend was worried because the Afrexim Bank of China was involved, and that meant bankruptcy for him. I told him not to worry,” he added.
Before Now
This isn’t the first time the Adeleke family has been linked to Nigeria’s power sector.
Earlier in the year, Davido himself hinted at his family’s involvement in electricity distribution across the country.
During an interview on the American podcast Business Untitled In April, the singer claimed that his family operates four power plants, which play a big role in meeting Nigeria’s energy needs.
On Tuesday, 15th October 2024, the Nigerian national energy grid crashed for the seventh time.
Electricity distribution firms (DisCos) announced the shutdown in separate statements, just 24 hours after the grid broke down for the sixth time in 2024.
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