The Federal Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, has formally handed over the 6-Megawatt Ikere Gorge Hydropower Plant in Oyo State to the organized private sector. The official handover ceremony took place at Ikere Community, Iseyin Local Government Area, and Oyo State, under the Public-Private Partnership, PPP, and model.

The Ikere Gorge Dam was conceived in the administration of late President Shehu Shagari, 1979-1983, as a multi-purpose project to aid power generation, water supply, irrigation and fishing. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, congratulated the people of South-West Nigeria, particularly, the Oke-Ogun communities, on a major breakthrough in power generation.

Adelabu said the Ikere Hydropower Plant is a strategic intervention that underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to revitalizing energy assets and stimulating electricity market development. He added that the project would accelerate socio-economic growth in the host community and beyond.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Terlumun Utsev, said the construction of dams across the country remains a key mandate of his ministry aimed at boosting economic development.

Professor Utsev emphasized the importance of public-private partnership in complementing government efforts in infrastructure delivery, noting that the success recorded at the Ikere Hydropower Plant is a product of collaboration between the two ministries to strengthen Nigeria’s hydropower infrastructure.