TONY ELUMELU WINS "AFRICA PERSON OF THE YEAR" AWARD IN NEW YORK

Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu has extolled stakeholders in the public and private sectors committed to improving access to power in Africa.

He spoke while receiving the ‘Person of the Year’ award at the Africa Investor CEO Institutional Investment Summit hosted alongside the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He first acknowledged the staff and management of Transcorp Power, the biggest producer of thermal energy in Nigeria, providing about 18 per cent of national output. “In accepting this award, I want to dedicate it to Transcorp Power staff, who remain committed to realising our dream of improving access to electricity in Nigeria and making our vision of a well-lit, fully powered Nigeria come true.”

Transcorp Power has supported U.S. President Obama’s Power Africa initiative with a $2.5billion commitment. He thanked the broader coalition of investors in the African power sector as he urged other institutional investors to consider long-term opportunities on the continent. “I, also dedicate this to all stakeholders working hard to improve access to power in Africa. I call on others to please join us in this journey to powering Africa out of poverty.”

He emphasised that to ensure a different type of growth trajectory for Africa – one that does not rely exclusively on the export of primary commodities –  there must be reliable, accessible, affordable power to support industrialisation. “Industrialisation must occur on a massive scale for our countries to be powered out of chronic dependency on commodities. We must power Africa’s next phase of development, by targeting and prioritising growth of our manufacturing, industries and services. And power is the fulcrum that will make this happen,” he said.

Elumelu revealed that while there is an abundance of private capital available to be deployed to develop the African power sector, government must play its part in attracting these investments. He explained: “While there is huge private capital – local and global – seeking investment destinations, as we know, global private capital goes to where it is most welcome.”