Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has refuted reports on some social media platforms that an explosion occurred at Zungeru power on Monday.
Adelabu assured that the Zungeru power plant is on the grid and the plant is running at optimum capacity.
An earlier report had disclosed that the multimillion Naira Zungeru Hydro Electricity Dam in Niger state has been hit by an explosion.
According to the report, the explosion occurred in the early hours of Monday.
A dependable source from the area who confirmed the incident to Vanguard however said that several of the workers on duty sustained various degrees of injuries and are being attended to at different hospitals close by while those seriously affected are said to have been rushed to Minna, the state capital for more medical attention.
“We saw a foreigner,(Chinese) who is a worker who had severe injuries being ferried to Minna for further medical attention but we cannot say the exact number of staff injured but they are many,” the source added.
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Besides the human injuries, the explosion was said to have affected some installations at the Dam.
Refuting the report in a statement by Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations, the Minister was quoted as saying that the report of an explosion is a figment of the imagination of the purveyors of such information.
“I have spoken with the Managing Director of Mainstream Energy and I can assure you that nothing of such took place in Zungeru. The plant is working and it continues to supply to the grid.
“We have video evidence from Zungeru that nothing like that occurred today and whoever is interested should go there to find out.
“It is rather unfortunate that people will sit down somewhere and cook up this sort of story. It is unpatriotic, such people should desist from creating unnecessary panic,” Adelabu stated.
The minister further assured Nigerians of adequate supply of energy, saying, “We have seen the worst in the sector, we can only get better. We promised an incremental supply of power and that is what is happening now and that’s why we have the present improvement and it will continue.”
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