Cross River earmarks N100m for NASENI to generate electricity from borehole

Cross River State Governor, Benedict Ayade, has announced N100m research grant to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to generate electricity from borehole.

The research on how to generate electricity from borehole would be jointly carried by NASENI and the Cross River State University (UNICROSS).

Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Christian Ita, in a statement, said Governor Ayade stated this yesterday when Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Muhammed Sani Haruna and his team visited him at the State Executive Council Chamber in Calabar.

Ayade said the time had come for the agency to develop a holistic framework to launch Nigeria into the global engineering map.

“NASENI is responsible for the science and engineering infrastructure. We must begin to develop engineering infrastructure in Nigeria. It is a shame that as a country we still import spare parts. It is a shame that we have to take a man from a temperate climate, without adequate sunshine to come and tell us how to use sunlight,” he said.

He also lamented that with Nigeria’s abundant crude oil, somebody had to come from a country that does not have oil to tell Nigerians how to explore oil and even how to use it.
Governor Ayade urged the agency to set up an office in Calabar and pledged that the state government would provide it a vehicle and an office space.

“In collaboration with UNICROSS, we are providing N100m for the development and generation of electricity from borehole. I also challenge you that from this same N100m, you should generate electricity for CalasVegas from the Calabar River,” he said.

Speaking, Prof. Haruna commended Ayade for his administrative and academic qualities, saying he was surprised when as a doctoral student at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, advised students to refer to his (Ayade’s) 1994 PhD citation.

While pledging that NASENI would collaborate with the Cross River government in its industrialisation drive, Prof. Haruna pleaded with the Ayade to market the agency to other governors in the country.

“We commend you for the investments in agriculture and infrastructure investment in Cross River State. We offer to collaborate with you because it is within our mandate to collaborate with states.

“Most importantly, we are willing to work with the private sector to establish technology-oriented manufacturing concerns and generate employment in the state,” he added.