The Kano State government on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with NNPC and Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria (GACN) Ltd. on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, during Friday’s event at Kano Government House, said the MoU would help revive struggling industries in Kano and neighboring states.
He noted that various foreign investors have shown interest in the gas sector in the state.
“We will use the gas to make Kano a gas hub in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Nasiru Yusuf-Gawuna, Ganduje said the AKK gas pipeline project will strengthen the state’s industrialization.
“I want to tell you that Kano State is benefiting from the revival of all dying industries.
“We are going to take full advantage of it. So there is going to be a lot of awareness raising, a lot of foreigners have approached the government to invest.
“So our potential investors need to be made aware of this,” he said.
He said the ongoing railway line project that would cross the state to the Republic of Niger was another positive move by the federal government for the project.
Ganduje said the state government also reserved 1,200 hectares of land for Tamburawa for industrial gas development to enter the pipeline.
“The government selected AKK pipeline committee members who are committed to their work.
“His Excellency would like to thank the Federal Government, NNPC and GACN leadership on behalf of the people of Kano State,” he said.
Earlier, the group’s chief executive, NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, said the AKK project was an opportunity to revive struggling industries in the state.
“Industries in Kano were once vibrant, but are now out of service due to a power issue. So this is the opportunity to bring them back to life, ”he said.
Kyari, who was represented by Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr. Yusuf Usman, revealed that the pipeline project will help create jobs for people.
In addition, GACN Chief Executive Officer Olalekan Ogunleye said that the federal government consistently supports gas development and that there is a policy framework for it.
He said the GACN had no choice but to fulfill its mandate.
Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN) is the strategic aggregator established by the Nigerian Gas Supply and Pricing Regulation, “The Regulation, 2008”.
Its main mandate is to allocate natural gas to strategic sectors for domestic use in Nigeria.
Ogunleye said GACN has already committed with NARTO, NURTW and MAN Kano chapters on the way forward as key players in the gas project.
He commended the state government for its support for the success of the project.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that Ganduje signed on behalf of the Kano government, while Usman and Ogunleye signed on behalf of the NNPC and GACN respectively.
