Nasarawa State government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Marks and Adams Investment Limited to develop a Meter Producing Plant in the state on December 2, 2021 at Lafia, making history.
The metre plant is the brainchild of Prince Mark Elayo, Turakin Keana, a prominent Keana-born industrialist. Marks & Adams Investment Limited’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is him. Mr Ibrahim A. Abdullahi, the Managing Director of the Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency (NIDA), signed on behalf of the Nasarawa State government, while Prince Elayo signed on behalf of Marks and Adams Investment Limited.
They will each contribute $1.5 million to the initiative, which will cover the price of land, equipment, and employees. A hectare of land will be used for the factory. This is Northern Nigeria’s first metre manufacturing plant, and Nigeria’s third overall. The plant contains an administrative block, showroom, CKD entry, metre assembly line, metre calibration, certification & quality control, loading bay, and warehousing, according to its design.
The metre manufacturing line has a monthly production capacity of 10,000 metres. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) metre status report from 2016, over three million registered electricity consumers’ accounts remained unmetered. In 2017, the number increased to almost four million. It was five million unmetered power users in 2019. According to recent estimates based on customer enumeration data, the metering gap is about 10 million people.
Electric power customers and producers will not obtain value for their money unless the metering gap is closed or minimised, and no significant investment will be made in the industry as a result. Nigeria’s massive metering gap is a major factor to the country’s cash crises and poor power sector performance.
As a result, the project’s outputs are very promising and can be commercialised, as the metres will be purchased by electrical distribution companies, the government, and housing estate owners. In reality, because of the approval of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Nigerian producers now have access to a wide pool of consumers across Africa.
The metre plant would effortlessly produce its product and grow capacity of vocational and technical know-how of the teeming youths of Nasarawa State and beyond, thanks to the presence of a power substation, cargo airport, and Lafia as a gateway to many areas of Nigeria.
Marks & Adams Investment Limited is an engineering and construction company that has been in existence since 2011, when it was registered as a limited liability company under Nigerian law.
It is registered with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) Department of Petroleum Resources and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). It has a team of skilled and experienced specialists with years of experience in the oil and gas business and a reputation for providing high-quality, safe service.
With its track record, it has gained the trust of major oil producing and service organisations, as well as construction and engineering firms both within and outside Nigeria’s borders.
The NERC has chosen Messrs. Mark & Adams Investment Limited to carry out the Meter Rollout Plan for the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDC). Across November 2017, the firm agreed to supply 200,000 pre-paid metres to KAEDC’s consumers in the distribution company’s four states of operation: Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The project cost $45 million to complete (N14.1bn). With KAEDC, this deal comprises a 10-year metering project. Metering was first implemented in Nigeria in 2005 to address customer complaints about overbilling and other associated issues. Since the installation of the prepayment metering system, customers have been generally pleased. There are, however, some reservations. Nigerians encounter significant difficulties in obtaining and using the prepaid metering system.
The administration has often promised to address the issues, yet they remain, staring power consumers in the face. The lack of vending infrastructure, the contractor’s non-tripping, the cost of procuring the metre, and delays in receiving and installing the prepaid metres are only a few of the issues.
With the completion of the plan to build a metre plant in Nasarawa State, these will be a thing of the past. This project’s significance cannot be overstated.
It is expected to strengthen Nasarawa State’s industrial foundation, create a large number of jobs, and raise the overall level of living. It would expand Nigeria’s electric power value chain while lowering foreign exchange costs.
As the Naira’s value against the dollar continues to fall, it’s time to take on the importation of the electricity metre head on. Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, has demonstrated tremendous kindness in this regard. This is something to be proud of. It is now up to the investor to immediately capitalise on the governor’s refreshing candour in order to complete this project on time.
Here’s a governor with a calm demeanour, vision, foresight, innovation, and candour. He has put an end to criminality and brought peace to his people. As a result, it is past time for the Home of Solid Minerals to undergo a transformation. Investors should prepare to be a part of the Sule-led administration’s success storey.
Marks & Adams Investment Limited, as a completely indigenous company, understands the aspirations of the people of Nasarawa State and should not rest on its laurels in doing what it can to help them. The organisation has the resources and capabilities to produce high-quality metres, design a computerised Prepaid Metering System that is acceptable, and give ongoing training to power workers.
Apart from assisting the people of Nasarawa State, and indeed the entire northern region of Nigeria, in resolving the issue of prepaid metering, this project will also boost the economy, as envisaged by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, and give Nigeria a new lease on life.
Electricity, as we all know, has remained the driving force behind all development efforts involving industrial, commercial, and domestic systems. The only way to drive the economy in Nigeria is to cost and distribute electricity to Nigerians.
The metering plant will undoubtedly raise Nigeria’s metering rate, eliminate arbitrary estimated billing, and aid Nigeria’s economic recovery by minimising collection losses and improving money flows in order for Distribution Companies to meet their 100% market remittance commitments (DisCos). It will also boost network monitoring and data availability for market administration and investment decision-making.
Since taking office, Governor Abdullahi A. Sule has worked tirelessly to make Nasarawa State a model state in Nigeria and to improve the lives of his people. When completed, this endeavour will go down in history as a watershed moment in his presidency.
