- He expressed his administration’s unwavering commitment to diversifying Nigeria’s energy mix.
- Two potential sites for Nigeria’s nuclear power plant have been identified and necessary processes are undertaken.
President Mohammadu Buhari, at the just concluded International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century held in Washington DC, said Nigeria would explore nuclear energy to generate electricity. He expressed his administration’s unwavering commitment to diversifying Nigeria’s energy mix through the acquisition of nuclear power.
He added that the Federal Government had activated the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, as the national focal agency responsible for developing the framework and technical pathway to explore, exploit and harness atomic energy for peaceful applications for the country’s socio-economic development. In his remark, he noted that Nigeria had also established the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority as an independent government agency to ensure the safety of humans and the environment’s protection in the development, deployment and use of nuclear power.
The President, represented by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Sen. Adeleke Mamora, disclosed that Nigeria had decided to fully explore and harness nuclear energy resources for electricity generation, contributing to the country’s energy security. In his remark, the President said, “With the Small Modular Reactor, SMR, technology evolving, Nigeria sees this as a future game-changer in the nuclear industry and looks forward to a greater engagement with the IAEA and other global partners in the coming months and years to discuss the possibility of deploying SMRs in the country. In this regard, Nigeria is currently engaged in discussions with some countries and vendors for our nuclear power project. As a result, two potential sites for Nigeria’s nuclear power plant have been identified, and necessary processes are undertaken under Nigeria’s Integrated Nuclear Power Programme with the IAEA”.