Plateau State Governor-elect, Caleb Mutfwang, certainly understands that the herculean task of restoring Plateau’s shattered glory is not going to be a leisurely walk in the park.
After overwhelmingly securing the mandate of Plateau people to be their next governor, he promised them that he would hit the ground running immediately he assumed office. Many thought that he meant that he would not waste time but start working immediately he is sworn in.
But he has already started running even before he hits the ground, so to say. The expectations are extraordinarily huge. But Mutfwang’s desire to take Plateau citizens out of the woods is even larger and more urgent. Going by his interactions with wide ranging individuals and groups so far, there is no doubt that he is prepared to risk everything to reach that goal.
As a practical demonstration of that vision, the governor-elect, a lawyer, paid a working visit to the headquarters of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, ECN, in Abuja, on April 14, 2023. During a strategic session with the ECN Director-General, Professor E.J. Bala, and management, Mutfwang revealed that the state has huge potentials in solar energy, hydro power, wind farms and biomass.
When fully tapped, the governor-elect informed his hosts, these would improve the energy balance and demand of the state, increase productivity, improve manpower development, security and sustainable economic development. Apparently, exploiting these wide array of energy sources on the Plateau will have a very magnificent ripple-effect on the overall well-being of the people of the state in a very profound way.
This is a new approach to unlocking the energy potentials of the state towards tackling multifaceted developmental challenges. Only forward-looking leaders imbued with great vision and strategic thinking take such rare steps.
It is gratifying that a draft memorandum of understanding was agreed upon with referrals to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). They are expected to invest in the state through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) domiciled in the organisations. Pursuant to that, ECN is billed to dispatch a technical team to the state after the May 29 inauguration to begin the actualisation phase of the proposals.
