IAEA praises Nigeria's peaceful use of nuclear power

Djermouni Belkacem, leader of an IAEA mission team to Nigeria, gave the commendation in the capital Abuja while undertaking an audit of nuclear regulatory infrastructure and accessing Nigeria's level of preparedness to deploy nuclear facilities in electricity generation.

Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, has indicated its willingness to establish nuclear power plants to augment its electricity generation, currently put at about 3,000 mw compared to the 6,000 mw domestic demand.

The proposed nuclear plant is expected to contribute more than 25,000 mw to the national grid on completion, according to the news agency.

Belkacem said that the weeklong audit was a fundamental function of the IAEA to ensure that radioactive sources were not misapplied in view of its harmful effect on human and other organisms.

The team is expected to undertake a facility tour of major users of radioactive sources in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, the report said.