Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has expressed reservations over the construction of the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydropower Project approved by the Federal Executive Council.
He made this known in Abuja when he featured on Channels Television’s interview programme ‘Hard Copy’ which was anchored by Maupe Ogun.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had told State House correspondents in Abuja that the scope of works of the Mambilla project would include the construction of four dams and 700 kilometres of transmission lines.
However, governor Ishaku decried the absence of basic road connections and other social amenities in the place mapped out for the Hydropower project as well as neighbouring communities in the state months after the approval was given for the project.
He said: “As I am talking to you now, even the place where they want to build the hydropower project, there is no connection of roads or any facility there.”
“First of all for you to get into the state; there has to be a connection and now, when you get into the state there have to be connections to other places.”
He also said the Federal Government owes the state government the sum of N47billion for road projects in Taraba.
“We have tarred Federal Government roads (with) over N47billion which has not been refunded.
“My predecessor did most of them and I am continuing with some of them,” he said during the programme which weekend.