Nigeria’s President, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is exploring the possibility of acquiring, in the long-term, an electro-nuclear programme to meet the huge energy demands in the country.

According to a senior official in the presidency, this one of the measures being designed to tackle the current energy crisis in the country and France is expected to play a key role in the plans.

"In a joint communiqué adopted by President Yar'Adua and President Nicolas Sarkozy of French Republic, recently in France both of them agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy, which is an area of priority for Nigeria," the official stated.

According to the joint communiqué, France is disposed to give careful consideration to Nigeria's request in the area of nuclear power generation.

"Both sides decided to consider, with due respect to contractual international obligation, particularly within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the conditions for the implementation of such a project, notably with regard to safety," continued the official.

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