Business mogul praises US Congress for Electrify Africa Act

The Chairman, Heirs Holdings, UBA Plc and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, has expressed his joy over the passage of the Electrify Africa Act by the United States House of Representatives.

The legislation was passed on February 1, 2016.

According to a statement from UBA, the Electrify Africa Act creates a framework for a major public-private partnership between the US and sub-Saharan African countries to help millions of people gain access to affordable and reliable electricity. It also codifies access to electricity in Africa as a US foreign policy priority, thereby preserving President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative for years to come.

READ: Business mogul urges US power intervention

“Africa must win the energy challenge if it seeks to become an industrial power in the 21st century,” adding, “Power outages on the continent must spark power outrage. The kind of outrage that ignites the activist in us”, Elemelu said.

He also mentioned that, ”Power is a cross-cutting issue that impacts job creation, education, health care delivery, food security, communications and virtually every other sector of commercial activity.”

According to the statement, Elumelu and Aliko Dangote, both co-founders of the African Energy Leaders Group, had last week in a letter supported the passage of the bill, urging the US legislators to pass this critical legislation.