How a govt official tried to block my permit for $2bn Nigeria’s biggest power plant — Davido’s father

Adedeji Adeleke, father of popular music star, Davido, has alleged that a government official tried to prevent him from securing the environmental permit for his power plant worth over $2 billion. The billionaire businessman spoke on Tuesday at the Seventh Day Adventist Church’s General Conference Annual Council. The event was held in Maryland, United States […]

Adedeji Adeleke, father of popular music star, Davido, has alleged that a government official tried to prevent him from securing the environmental permit for his power plant worth over $2 billion.

The billionaire businessman spoke on Tuesday at the Seventh Day Adventist Church’s General Conference Annual Council.

The event was held in Maryland, United States of America.

While sharing his experience, Adeleke recalled how he ran into issues with “difficult government officials”.

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According to him, a particular official said to him that the project would never “see the light of day”.

He said he went on his knees and prayed to God because he did not want to accept the government official’s statement as the final say.

He said: “I am a businessman in Nigeria. I’m into the electricity business. I own a power plant, I generate about 15 per cent of the electricity needs for Nigeria. I have Chinese engineering companies that work for me.

“I’m building the biggest power plant in Nigeria that will be completed in January 2025. It is a 1,250-megawatt power plant.

“During the course of the design and getting the permit, we ran into difficult government officials. For environmental reasons, our permit was denied, and the particular government officials that I held a meeting with told me to my face that my project would never see the light of the day.

“But while he was saying that, I was saying in my mind that this guy is talking as if he is God. I was saying in my mind that God should listen to him; Because he is not God, whatever he is saying is null and void.

“So I left, disappointed and I told my Chinese friends that unfortunately we have difficulty and this project is going to stall. Meanwhile, the project is worth about $2 billion. In the process, a lot of money had already gone into the design and preliminaries. Before we got to the stage where we would need a permit and then break ground. So my Chinese friend was worried because the Afrexim Bank of China was involved so that meant bankruptcy for him. I told him not to worry.

“After praying to God, I got a call from the the ministry of power that I was needed at the minster’s office. So, I went and I was handed over my permit. I didn’t know what happened. All I did was prayed about it. Later I found out that the official who was blocking the permit took ill and was flown to Germany for treatment.”