US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1334

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001334 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PASS UNVIE VIENNA FOR LISA HILLARD AND ANNE STARZ 
DOE PLS PASS TO NNSA - GREG DWYER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG, KNNP, TRGY, PARM, NI, IAEA 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA TO ENACT PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY; 
IAEA SAYS IT WILL HELP BUILD UP TO EIGHT NUCLEAR REACTORS 
 
REF:  ABUJA 000570 
(U) 1. This is an action request -- see paragraph 10. 
 
(U) 2.  Summary.  Nigeria is now beginning to act on its 
April 2003 policy decision to pursue the peaceful use of 
nuclear power to generate electricity.  The International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it will assist the 
Government of Nigeria (GON) in its program for Nigeria's 
peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the IAEA recommends the 
GON build five to eight nuclear power plants by 2030 to help 
meet the country's electricity needs.  End summary. 
 
(U) 3.  Nigeria is now beginning to act on its April 2003 
policy decision to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear power 
to generate electricity.  On July 7, the acting economic 
counselor and the embassy's economic officer met with two 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials and two 
Government of Nigeria (GON) officials concerning Nigeria's 
intention to build five to eight nuclear power plants by 
2030.  The IAEA officials were Hans-Holger Rogner, head of 
the planning and Economic Studies Section, Department of 
Nuclear Energy; and Vincent Nkong-Njock, program management 
officer for the Africa Section of the Department of 
Technical Cooperation.  A.O. Aliyu and I.H. Zarma, both of 
the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), also attended.  The 
IAEA met with embassy officers, and separately with the 
French Embassy, at the GON's request. 
 
(U) 4. These meetings took place, and the IAEA delegation 
visited Nigeria, because the GON now has begun to implement 
actively its new "National Energy Policy."  According to 
documentation, this policy dates back to April 2003, but the 
GON announced the policy only in June 2005.  That month, 
President Olusegun Obasanjo, working with the ECN, launched 
this energy policy, which had been in the works for more 
than a decade and which states, "Policy: The nation shall 
pursue the exploitation of nuclear power for peaceful 
purposes." 
 
(U) 5. During their meeting with embassy officers, the IAEA 
officials discussed Nigeria's degree of cooperation to date 
on nuclear issues, specifically the IAEA's recommendations 
for improving security at two Nigerian nuclear facilities: 
the Sheda Science and Technology Complex irradiation 
facility, and the Zaria research nuclear reactor at the 
Center for Energy Research and Training.  The IAEA's Nkong- 
Njock said Nigeria's current output of electric power is 
between 4 and 6 megawatts but that this figure should be 10 
times as high for a country of Nigeria's population.  The 
IAEA's Rogner noted that currently only 42 percent of 
Nigerians have access to the country's electric-power grid. 
He added that the electricity generated by Nigerians' home 
diesel generators and businesses' generators equals that 
produced by the country's electric-power network, and that 
Nigerian industry is largely self-sufficient as an energy 
producer. 
 
(U) 6. According to Rogner, the GON hopes to have nuclear 
reactors operating by 2015 but that this is unlikely to 
happen.  He said the IAEA's recommendation is that Nigeria 
have five to eight nuclear power plants operating by the end 
of 2030, and that to reach this figure, Nigeria should build 
a reactor every three to five years, with the pace of 
construction increasing as Nigeria develops its nuclear 
expertise.  In terms of Nigeria's building these reactors, 
Rogner said the IAEA would insist that Nigeria "do it right" 
because "one strike, and you're out."  He also declared the 
IAEA will seek the "highest level of transparency" for the 
sake of the international community. 
 
(U) 7. Nkong-Njock said that, once Nigeria was at the point 
of starting to build nuclear reactors, an IAEA official 
would visit Nigeria every three to four months to oversee 
matters.  He added that the IAEA also will advise Nigeria on 
its power-generation needs.  Nkong-Njock additionally noted 
that, although the GON is a signatory to the Non- 
Proliferation Treaty, Nigeria still has not declared that it 
will allow unrestricted, unannounced visits by IAEA 
inspectors. 
 
(U) 8. In discussing Nigeria's existing nuclear facilities 
at Sheda and Zaria, Nkong-Njock said their physical 
protection "is still lacking."  He noted that at the Zaria 
reactor, the GON already has implemented most of the IAEA's 
recommendations, including for nuclear waste management. 
Nkong-Njock said, however, that the GON has not yet 
implemented at Sheda "many" of the IAEA's recommendations, 
including measures for security and safety. 
(SBU) 9. Begin comment:  The two Nigerian officials at this 
meeting said nearly nothing but rather deferred almost 
completely to the two IAEA officials.  Neither the GON 
officials nor the IAEA officials asked what was the U.S. 
Government's policy toward Nigeria's pursuit of the peaceful 
use of nuclear power, or toward Nigeria's plan to build up 
to eight nuclear reactors.  The IAEA officials at the 
meeting appeared to believe Nigeria's construction of eight 
reactors would proceed without significant difficulties. 
They also seemed to have no appreciation for concerns that 
might arise in maintaining security at these reactors if 
they are built.  End comment. 
 
(U) 10.  Action request:  Embassy Abuja requests that the 
Department of State and the U.S. Department of Energy review 
their policy on Nigeria's intention to build five to eight 
nuclear power plants, and then communicate this policy to 
Embassy Abuja. 
 
CAMPBELL