The Chairman of the Executive Board of West African Power Pool (WAPP), Engr. Sule Abdulaziz, has attributed the delay in the execution of major projects within the ECOWAS Sub-region to the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world.

Engr Abdulaziz, who is also the Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), made this known in his opening address at the 47th Ordinary Session of WAPP Executive Board Meeting via videoconference on Saturday, 21st November 2020.

In his word “the delay in the implementation of major projects this year was due to the COVID 19 pandemic, which means that we will no longer be able to set 2020 as the starting year for competitive electricity trade in the ECOWAS sub-region”.

Engr Abdulaziz, who presided over the meeting for the first time after his appointment, commended the management of WAPP for it’s clear vision, “I would just like to say that WAPP reflects an institution that also has clear vision of what it wants and where it wants to go. It is an Institution that is the pride of its members” he said.

According to him, for the organization to be able to finance it various projects as well as increase its prestige among its technical and financial partners, all members’ countries should endeavor to pay their subscriptions on time.

He however expressed appreciation to the board members for the confidence imposed on him as the Executive Board Chairman and promised to work with other member of the team to ensure the success of WAPP.

In his welcome address, the Secretary General, of WAPP, Mr. Siengui Appollinaire KI appreciated members for attending the meeting despite the difficult times experienced due to COVID 19 pandemic.

He noted that the meeting will afford members the opportunity to consider the issues on the financial status of the organization as well as the regional grid emission factor for the WAPP interconnected system.

It is a great joy for me to preside over this 47th Executive Board Meeting which is being held by videoconference. Thank you for making time out of your busy schedules, in order to participate in this meeting. I would have liked it to be held in person, so that we could get to know each other better. It's only partly contained and I hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will eventually give us the opportunity to do so, either with its complete disappearance or with the discovery of an effective vaccine.

I would also like to thank you, once again, for the honour and confidence you have placed in Nigeria and TCN, by appointing my humble person to head the Executive Board of this noble Institution. I will do everything in my power and with your help to succeed in the mission entrusted to me.

Before going any further, I would like to enquire about the state of health of each participant and your families. I really hope that everything is fine and that we have enough peace of mind to work.

Distinguished Members of the Executive Board, Ladies and Gentlemen, We are here today for a meeting which I am convinced will be brief, given the number of issues to be discussed. However, they are very important issues because they reflect the quality of the management of the Institution, its governance and its vision. I am referring to the 2019 Financial Statements and the 2021 Work Programme and Budget. I will not go back over the key figures announced by the Secretary General, which we will have the opportunity to go through deeper. I would just like to say that they reflect the good management of the Institution, an Institution that also has a clear vision of what it wants and where it wants to go. It is an Institution that is the pride of its members.

The current regret is the delay in the implementation of major projects due to the COVID 19 pandemic, which means that we will no longer be able to set 2020 as the starting year for competitive electricity trade in the ECOWAS sub-region.

Distinguished Members of the Executive Board, Ladies and Gentlemen, In order to enable the General Secretariat to carry out its programme of activities, I appeal to all members to pay their subscriptions on time. I remind you that it is this seriousness on your part in the payment of your contributions that increases our prestige among the Technical and Financial Partners and makes us capable of financing our various projects.

In conclusion, I would like to invite you to be very concise in your interventions during the debates that the different items on the agenda will raise.

I -hope that this Session of the Executive Board will take place in the good atmosphere that has always characterized our meetings and that we can achieve fruitful results.

I therefore declare open the 47th WAPP Executive Board Meeting.

Thank you.