Adeleke Shares Challenges in Securing Permit for $2 Billion Power Plant
Written by Jerry Alomatu on October 16, 2024
Adedeji Adeleke, the father of popular musician Davido, has revealed the hurdles he faced while securing an environmental permit for his $2 billion power plant project. The billionaire businessman and founder of Pacific Energy shared his experience during the Seventh Day Adventist General Conference Annual Council held on Tuesday in Maryland, USA.
During his address, he highlighted encounters with uncooperative government officials, including one who bluntly stated that the project would never “see the light of day.” Despite such discouragement, Adeleke turned to faith for strength.
“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,” he said.
Adeleke recounted the difficulties: “During the course of the design and getting the permit, we ran into difficult government officials. For environmental reasons, our permit was denied, and the particular government officials that I held a meeting with told me to my face that my project would never see the light of the day. But while he was saying that, I was saying in my mind that this guy is talking as if he is God… whatever he is saying is null and void.”
Despite the setbacks, Adeleke remained optimistic, reassuring his Chinese partners—who were worried due to the scale of the investment and involvement of the Afrexim Bank of China—that the situation would improve. He emphasized the importance of prayer, which he believed played a key role in eventually securing the necessary approval from the then Minister of Power, who saw the project’s merits.
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Author: Jerry Alomatu
Astute communicator
