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Sylva Congratulates New NNPC Board Members

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Sylva Congratulates New NNPC Board Members

The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum and Alternate Chairman of the NNPC Board, H.E. Timipre Sylva has extended good wishes and hearty congratulations to the members of the reconstituted Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

In a press release issued in Abuja Mr. Sylva also praised President Muhammadu Buhari for the quality of his choices for the membership of the NNPC Board; as well as for the timeliness of the appointment.

The members as announced by the Presidency include Mohammed Lawal (North West), Tajudeen Umar (North East), Adamu Mahmood Attah (North Central), Senator Magnus Abe (South South), Dr Stephen Dike (South East), and Pius Akinyelure (South West).

In his capacity as HMSP, and Alternate Chairman of the NNPC Board which membership also includes the GMD of the NNPC and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Sylva assured the President of his readiness to work with the new Board Members to deliver on the key objectives in the Oil and Gas sector as set by the President.

These objectives include bringing down the cost of production of crude oil, eliminating vandalism, improving the National Crude Oil Reserve and passage of the PIB Bill, among others.

Integrity: Union Lauds FG For Appointing Prof. Sharubutu To Head Agric Research Project

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Integrity: Union Lauds FG For Appointing Prof. Sharubutu To Head Agric Research Project

By Mohammed Baba Busu

The Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture, Plateau State, has lauded the Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Sabo Nanono for appointing Prof. Garba Sharubutu as Executive Secretary of Agric Research Council of Nigeria.

This, the union said, would lead to an increased productivity and bring speedy development to the agricultural sector.

This is contained in a statement by the Union’s chairman, Mohammed Abdu, in Jos on Sunday.

The union expressed happiness with the appointment, considering Sharubutu’s developmental strides as the Provost, Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, Plateau.

Prof. Garba Sharubutu

According to the statement, “we are not only delightful with the appointment but pledge our complete support to the professor to succeed in his place of assignment”.

” This support is based on his intelligence, integrity, drive for sustainable development and competence.

” Being an academic union (intellectuals), we are proudly presenting veritable evidence of these attributes

” He has created departmental offices for effective service delivery and for improved standard of education and agricultural output.

” The centre has trained students and the general public on tailoring and fashion designing, hair dressing and pedicure/manicure, hand and machine knitting, catering services and interior decoration among others.”

The statement said Sharubutu, during his time as provost, also created college of consultancy company for improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), to support government’s efforts in funding the college.

“In terms of capital projects, it includes construction of radiology laboratory, classroom blocks, procurement of classroom chairs, construction of student hostels, computer laboratory, audio visual laboratory, among others.

” In view of the above, we hail and salute the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, the Permanent Secretary and all those achievers that strongly believe that the appointment of the Professor will revolutionise agricultural research in Nigeria, ” the statement said.

Abdu also congratulated Sharubutu and urged him to remain committed to the development of the agricultural sector and the country at large.

The statement assured the new Executive Secretary of the union’s support, to enable him to succeed.

Sylva, Oshiomole, Others Are Not Amaechi’s Enemies – Eze

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Sylva, Oshiomole, Others Are Not Amaechi’s Enemies – Eze

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, chieftain of the APC and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), has described reports flying on social media and purportedly credited to a former CTC chairman of Emohua Local Government Area and an ardent supporter of the Transportation Minister, Mr. Godstime Orlukwu, as fictitious and a cocktail of lie, emanating from men of the underworld.

In a statement circulated to media houses, Eze condemned the propagators of the false report, stressing that it has nothing to do with Godstime Orlukwu.

Mr. Godstime Orlukwu

Haven perused through the damaging report, Eze confirmed establishing contact with Dr. Orlukwu and reliably gathered that he neither authored the piece nor contracted anybody to do same on his behalf and that the said report never emenated from him.

“I just spoke with my brother and political leader, Dr Godstime Orlukwu on a false statement credited to him alleging that some of the colleagues and political associates of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi are his enemies. The mischievous, malicious and wicked statement aimed at sowing seeds of discord between the Honourable Minister mentioned Sylva, Oshiomole, Akpabio, Omo-Agege as culprits.

From what I gathered from the APC Chieftain Dr Godstime Orlukwu, he never granted any interview to any Journalist or authorised such ungodly statement to be issued by anybody on his behalf insinuating that such good friends of his boss are his enemies or that the Minister is against any appointment made to anybody”.

Eze reinterred that the public should discountenance such a fallacious report describing it as the handiwork of mischief makers targeted at smearing the umblemished image of the Transportation Minister.

“As we investigate the source of this wicked report and those behind it, let me reiterate that those who wants to create enemies for the Honourable Minister of Transportation for their wicked political gains will not succeed in any form”. Eze said.

The statement further reads – “Let me caution finally that I am fully aware of all the evil steps put in place to discredit and pull down the Minister but God of justice will always guide and protect us from their hands”.

Eze issued a 48 hours ultimatum to the publishers of the damaging report to retract same or earn severe consequences.

“Finally, the Publisher of this false report is by this press statement given 48hours to pull down the report and retrace from its further publication or earn the wrath and weight of the law in this regard”.

On the appointment of Senator Magnus Abe into the Board of NNPC, Eze said it does not in any way affect the plans of the APC to deliver Rivers State from its present sad situation, all things being equal come 2023.

Five Years Of PMB: Good For The South, Ugly For The North

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Five Years Of PMB: Good For The South, Ugly For The North

By Bala Ibrahim

Last night on NTA, I watched Ajuri Ngelale, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, giving the 5 year report card of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. An excellent guy with exceptional fluency and fluidity in presentation. I salute him for being a man with good oral communication skills, good enough to market meat in a fish shop. Ajuri’s presentation of the President’s performance in five years is pleasantly palatable. Before the TV show of yesterday, I had also listened to him on the radio, where he eloquently elaborated similar achievements, and the blue print of the government in the years to come. Excellent. As a Buharist, I was elated.

Earlier on, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President’s media adviser, had advanced thus, “The economy, long dependent on a mono product – petroleum, is being retooled, refocused, with diversification as a task that must be accomplished. Agriculture has been given a fillip, manufacturing has got a shot in the arm, and solid minerals are contributing a large chunk to the Gross Domestic Product”. Mr. AJuri added flesh to Adesina’s position, by giving details of some of the positive things done to enhance and improve infrastructure in Nigeria.

While itemizing the government’s achievements, mention was made, with a high sense of satisfaction, about the transformation of the nation’s infrastructural landscape, by citing the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernization Project, the Lagos-Ibadan express road rehabilitation, the Coastal Railway Project, the Calabar-Port Harcourt-Onne Deep Sea Port Segment, the Second Niger Bridge, the Owerri Interchange, the Port Harcourt-Enugu Expressway, as well as the East-West Road Project, amongst others. In putting the icing on the cake, Ajuri spoke well on the giant strides in security, economy and corruption, the three areas of the regime’s priority. Excellent. As a Buharists, I felt delighted.

In the programme, which looked clearly like a promo, designed to showcase the achievements of the government, the interviewer simply gave the microphone to Mr. Ajuri, without intermittent interjections, to enquire about the distribution of these developments. Even at that, in listing the achievements, when he came to mentioning the Abuja-Kano Expressway amongst the ongoing projects with progress, Ajuri’s conscience seemed to have pricked him a little, because he stammered there. And precisely that’s where as a Buharist, I felt unhappy. Knowingly or unknowingly, the north is being shortchanged.

Amongst the promises the President made to Nigerians was:

1.To integrate the informal economy into the mainstream and prioritize the full implementation of the National Identification Scheme to generate the relevant data; 2. Expand domestic demand and undertake associated public works programmes to achieve this goal; 3. Embark on export and production diversification including investment in infrastructure; promote manufacturing, through Agro Based industries; and expand and promote sub-regional trade through ECOWAS and AU. And the president made it very clear to all, that in executing this mandate, he is for none, he is for all.

If we look at the pattern of project execution, the placement of priorities, alongside the time spent and what remains, one needs no glasses to see the imbalance in the distribution of infrastructural investments, particularly the infrastructure that would spur agriculture. This neglect was done to the evident disadvantage of the north. With the prevailing situation, vis a vis the balance of time for Mr. President, except by some miracle, the north can not catch up. As a Buharist, I feel doleful.

Nigeria’s huge infrastructural deficit has long been a topical discourse and known to be the major hindrance to the growth of businesses and economic prosperity, with northern Nigeria being the most disadvantaged. With dilapidated transport networks, epileptic power supply, huge housing deficit, the north’s infrastructure gap cannot be overemphasized. Which is the reason why many insisted that, all projects that have two terminals, should be carried out concurrently from both ends. That way, even if things fall apart, the loss would be shared, while the centre holds. But as things stand, the north is destined to lose. Yet, it is the largest contributor in votes, when it comes to the success of any president, with PMB being the biggest beneficiary.

PMB clinched the presidential seat by garnering 15.2m votes, the bulk of which came from the north west, as against the 11.3m gotten by his closest rival, Mr. Atiku Abubakar. Yet, the under listed projects for the north west, are either abandoned, or running at a snail speed:

1. Construction of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Highway.
2. Dualisation of Kano–Wudil–Shuarin section of the Kano–Maiduguri Road
3. Dualisation of Kano–Katsina Road Phase.
4. Sokoto–Tambuwal–Jega Road.
5. Construction of Kano Western Bypass.
6. Construction of Kaduna Eastern Bypass.
7. Construction of Kaduna Modern Medical Diagnostic Centre.
8. Sabke Water Supply Project, Katsina State.
9. Shagari Irrigation Project, Sokoto State.
10. Galma Dam, Kaduna State.
11.60MVA Transformer in Dan Agundi Substation, Kano.
12. 2X60MVA Transformer in Kakuri Substation, Kaduna.
13. 60MVA Transformer in Katsina Substation.
14. 40MVA Mobile Substation at Zaria, Kaduna State.
15. 2x40MVA 132/33KV Power Transformer at Daura, Katsina State.
16. 60MVA 132/33KV Power Transformers at Hadejia, jigawa state.
17. 60MVA 132/33KV Power Transformers at Funtua, Katsina State.
18. 60MVA 132/33KV Power Transformers at Sokoto.

As if cursed, or destined for imprisonment through an unlucky accident, the projects that seem to be receiving priority attention in the north are those under the newly renamed correctional centre facilities arrangement, where, of the 86 earmarked in 16 states, the bulk is in the north, and almost all are completed.

There is no gainsaying agriculture is the main preoccupation of the north. Agriculture is the key to increase in per capita gross domestic product. Agriculture is the shortest solution to joblessness in Nigeria, which in the last five years, has more than tripled. If efforts are not made to spur agriculture and other non-oil parts of the economy, the hope of getting any foreign direct investment, would only remain a mirage. It is also impossible to have a vibrant manufacturing sector in the face of agricultural neglect.

While people like Professor Ango Abdullahi are putting the blame of these neglects on the failure of the President to punish or take decisive action against people close to him that engage in wrong doings, insecurity and Covid-19, are collectively conniving in the region, to make the realization of that agricultural retooling and diversification ambition impossible.

As a Buharist, I feel sorrowful and mournful.

Akeredolu Oppressing, Neglecting Minority Arogbo Ijaws Of Ondo State – Group

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Akeredolu Oppressing, Neglecting Minority Arogbo Ijaws Of Ondo State – Group

…Says Gov has spent N310 billion on capital projects in four years with nothing in Arogbo Ijaw

The Arogbo Ijaw Patriots has accused the Governor of Ondo State, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu of deliberate nepotistic conduct in project execution against the minority Ijaws of the state.

The group in a statement signed by the Coordinator, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei and Secretary, Barr. Bibisa Kekemeke, on Sunday said that Akeredolu has failed to protect the interest of the disadvantaged Ijaw minority in the state.

The group said that it was rather distressing that Akeredolu only focused attention on the development of Ijaw Apoi, his maternal O home to the exclusion of the Arogbo Ijaws.

According to the group, the Arogbo Ijaw community has not been so terribly marginalized and treated as an enemy territory by any Governor before Akeredolu.

The duo appealed to the Governor to display the compassion expected of a leader to recognize the fact that Ondo State has two ethnicities: the dominant Yoruba and the minority Arogbo Ijaws.

Soriwei and Kekemeke stressed further that since Akeredolu took over governance in Ondo State, he has executed four budgets totaling N734 billion out of which N310 billion was approved for capital projects.

They expressed shock and disappointment that not even N10 million worth of project was sited in the more populated Arogbo Ijaw part of Ese Odo while the Governor and his deputy moved all the projects to Apoi.

The group challenged Akeredolu and his government to counter the claim if it is untrue by pointing to any such project in the area after almost four years of his administration.

“Ondo State has 18 Local Government Areas and Ese-Odo, the Ijaw Local Government happens to be one of the two oil producing councils in the state. The Arogbo Ijaws are the more populated out of the two Ijaw clans making up the local government area but Akeredolu and his deputy, Hon Agboola only opted to site all road and other projects in Apoi land in a brazen display of unparalleled nepotism.

“Between 2017 and 2020, Akeredolu has had the opportunity to preside over a cumulative budgetary figure of about N734 billion. Out of this figure the Governor allocated about N310 billion for capital projects for four years! We hereby challenge the Ondo Government to contradict this statement of fact and make itself an objective of public mockery.

“We can only plead with the Governor to show compassion as a leader to listen to the cries of the mistreated Ijaws for a likeness of developmental attention.

The group lamented further that Akeredolu’s maternal country people were given 188 job slots out of a total of 200 that were given to Ese-Odo Local Government areas

They added further that out of seven contracts of about N100 million awarded by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Authorities, four were given to the Ilajes òf Ilaje Local Government Area and three to Ese-Odo, which Akeredolu gave to his mother’s people to the exclusion of Arogbo Ijaws.

The group said that all entreaties of the Ijaw people to the state Government for a bridge across the tiny River Oluwa to link the headquarters of the Ijaw community, Arogbo, with the outside world have been ignored by Akeredolu who is doing bridges on land in other parts of the state.

The recalled that the Governor constituted five state committees including the one on COVID 19 without the inclusion of any Arogbo Ijaw person in the committees.

CBN Cuts Monetray Policy Rate To 12.5 Percent

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CBN Cuts Monetray Policy Rate To 12.5 Percent

………Retains Other Rates

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday reduced its monetary policy rate to 12.5 percent as part of efforts to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The previous rate was 13.50 percent.

However, the bank retained its Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 percent and Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 percent.

MPR is the interest rate at which CBN lends to the commercial banks and also the benchmark against which other lending rates in the economy are pegged.

A reduction in the MPR rate tends to make lending cheaper and helps to further stimulate the economy.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the reduction during a Monetary Policy Council briefing on Thursday.

Seven members voted to cut the MPR by 100 basis points, while two members voted for a 150bps rate cut, with one member electing for a 200bps rate cut, the Governor said.

Mr Emefiele added that the asymmetric corridor around the MPR will remain at +200/-500bps, while the Cash Reserves Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 percent and
Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 percent.

The Committee also considered developments in the global and domestic economy since its last meeting including, the negative impact of COVID-19 on global growth and the responses of global central banks’ to the COVID-19.

On the domestic front, the Committee noted that sustained inflationary pressure (April: +8bps to 12.34% y/y), and weaker but still positive output growth in Q1-2020, as well as a sustained decline in manufacturing PMI.

 

 

 

Culled from Channelstv

Dissolution Of UNIPORT Governing Council: Prof Efemini Commends President Buhari

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Dissolution Of UNIPORT Governing Council: Prof Efemini Commends President Buhari

…….saving the university from a very cancerous and deadly cabal

…….describes the dissolved council as taking joy in arts of illegality

A lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Port Harcourt, Prof Efemini Andrew has thanked the Federal Government for dissolving the Governing Council of UNIPORT.

In a press release he personally signed, Prof Efemini said that since 2017, the Governing Council became illegal and illegitimate because 6 new members were introduced into the Council through deliberate violation of the University Act.

The statement read, “The violation is about cutting short the tenure of Council membership. The law stipulates 4years tenure but Senate and Congregation were manipulated to reduce the tenure to 2years.

“Those who violated the law try to explain it away by saying it was Senate and Congregation that did it. Unfortunately for them, the law stipulates that no section of the law shall be amended or altered without the approval of the President who is the Visitor.

“Let those who violated the law and their supporters show us the President’s approval.

“In 2019, the Law was again violated through gangster voting of 6persons from Senate and Congregation.

“Unlike 2017 where dispute about how to elect Convocation representative stalled the process, in 2019 a deal was struck to send a representative from Convocation to Governing Council without an election. This again violates the Act which stipulates how elections should be conducted.

“The implication of 5 and 6 above is that as at the time of dissolution of the Governing Council, not a single internal member had legitimacy.

“Just imagine the implications of illegal membership for the decisions of Council since 2017.

“Illegal Council was busy sacking, suspending and punishing staff and students.

“The same illegal Council were busy appropriating University funds for the Administration.

“The process of selecting the next Vice-Chancellor exposed the actual motive behind the introduction of illegal members to Council.

“Fortunately, justice has to come one way or another. There has to be a way of stopping the locomotive illegal engine of the illegal Council.

“People who should not be in Council found themselves in the Selection Committee for the Vice-Chancellor

“This is where we must thank the Government for responding to the situation promptly. The dissolution of an illegal Council is not only just, it is a right move to restore order to the University.

“The rancorous communication from Governing Council to Government is bad enough. A house divided between illegal and legal members of Council.

Warning: Breaking of any law is a criminal offence. If those behind the violating of the university act don’t run away quickly, I can see their arraignment for violation and conspiring to violate the university act.

“If there is any doubt still in your mind raise let us look at it.

Meanwhile thank the Government for saving Uniport from a deadly Cabal, the statement ended.

No Positives From Latest Premier League COVID-19 Tests

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No Positives From Latest Premier League COVID-19 Tests

There have been no positive findings from the latest round of coronavirus testing carried out in the Premier League, the English top-flight announced on Saturday.

The fourth round of screening saw a total of 1,130 players and club staff tested, with the lack of any new cases bolstering the Premier League’s plan to resume the season on June 17.

“The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May, 1,130 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19,” said a statement.

“Of these, zero have tested positive.”

That means there have been just 12 positive cases from a combined total of 3,882 tests since Premier League players and club staff started being examined earlier this month.

PMB’s Power Sector Reform: A Win-Win For Nigeria, Nigerians

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PMB’s Power Sector Reform: A Win-Win For Nigeria, Nigerians

By Musa Ilallah

From his first day in office in May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed his willingness and desire to improve the fortunes of Nigeria and Nigerians by, among other things, improving electricity supply to every nook and cranny of the country. He was determined, he said, to leave a legacy by the time he leaves office after his first term in office in 2019. It was not just a pledge but a commitment that would stand the test of time.

With a view to realising his vision for 24/7 power supply in the country, President Buhari has inaugurated a Presidential Power Initiative project, PPI for the country.

In very clear and unambiguous terms, the new Presidential Power Initiative is a power infrastructure upgrade and modernization programme agreed to by the Nigerian Government and Siemens AG of Germany, with the support of the German Government.

Under the PPI, the Nigerian Government will, on behalf of the other shareholders in the electricity distribution companies, invest in infrastructure upgrades in the form of improved payment systems, distribution substations, transformers, protection devices, smart meters and transmission lines, among others.

The ultimate goal of the PPI is to modernize and increase the Nigerian electricity grid capacity from about 5 Giga Watts currently, to 25 Giga Watts, over three phases.

The funding for the PPI will be secured under concessionary terms of up to 3 years moratorium and 12 years repayment at concessionary interest rates through the German Euler Hermes cover, which the Nigerian Government will on-lend as a convertible loan to the other shareholders in the Distribution Companies and DISCOS. It also provides support for credit insurers.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the release of funding for the first part of Phase 1 of the PPI, to kick off the pre-engineering and concession financing workstreams.

To ensure fairness and transparency of the intervention, the President has further directed that the Nigerian Government engages the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist in developing the commercial structure of the intervention under the Presidential Power Initiative, as well as in undertaking an independent company valuation of the DisCos.

It is on record that President Buhari in his attempt to ensure value for money and preserve the integrity & transparency of the procurement process, in line with Government to Government framework, Siemens AG shall be solely responsible for nominating its EPC partners to perform all onshore works, thus cutting off middlemen who are perceived as parasites and ‘strategists’ of corrupt practices by public officers.

The PPI journey started in August , 2018, when Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany came to Nigeria on a state visit and had fruitful discussions with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Chancellor Mikel’s entourage during the visit included a business delegation that included Mr Joe Kaeser, the Global CEO of Siemens. He pleged to personally oversee the implementation of the Nigeria Electrification roadmap/PPI as a landmark project for Nigeria and Africa.

Total cost of the project which covers some states of the Federation of will be N1.15trillion.

One can vividly recall from media reports that at the meeting, Nigeria and Germany agreed to explore cooperation in a number of areas, including Power.

Just recently, after a laborious, thorough and painstaking process, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of funding for the first part of Phase 1 of the PPI to kick-start the pre-engineering and concession financing workstreams.
In line with his vision, transparency and accountability, President Buhari said of the project “Our goal is simply to deliver electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes. Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a Government to Government framework. No middlemen will be involved in the deal so that we can achieve value for money for Nigerians.”

The President had also directed that the Nigerian Government engage the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist in developing the commercial structure of the intervention under the Presidential Power Initiative as well as in undertaking an independent company valuation of the distribution companies popularly called DisCos.

What can be more transparent than this.

The third force of engaging middlemen to loot public funds has been completely cut off from this power sector negoatiation, financing and execution.

All DisCos have directly, and through the BPE, been diligently carried along over the last 15 months to understand in detail the challenges in the electricity systems.

All items to be purchased were provided by the DisCos and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and will be vetted by a professional Project Management Office.

According to details of the intervention, funding for the PPI will be secured under concessionary terms of up to 3 years moratorium and 12 years repayment at concessionary interest rates through the German Euler Hermes cover, the Nigerian Government will on-lend as a convertible loan to the other shareholders in the DisCos.

It is expected that the Presidential Power Initiative will, among other things,
deliver improved power supply nationwide, with attendant results in job creation, investor confidence, cost and ease of doing business and economic growth. It will also provide training & capacity building for thousands of young non-graduates, students and university graduates.

Furthermore, PPI will create economic opportunities for Nigerian engineering companies that will serve as local vendors for the provision of manpower and equipment, in addition to stimulating and encouraging inflow of additional investments into the power sector.

Initial development work on the foundational ‘Roadmap’ document known as the Nigeria Electrification
Roadmap was jointly done by Siemens and the Nigerian Government. Signing of the Implementation Agreement for the Roadmap took place in July last year while the Agreement was signed by Siemens and by the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE on behalf of the Nigerian Government, and witnessed by shareholders and management of the DisCos.

In line with the PPI schedule, the intervention will be implemented in three phases as resolving 2,000MW of transmission and distribution constraints and increasing the operational capacity of the grid to 7,000MW as phase 1; increasing operational grid capacity by an additional 4,000MW, to 11,000MW as phase 11 and achieving total operational generation and grid capacity of 25,000MW subsequently as phase 111.

Under phases 1 and 11, Siemens will be working to upgrade assets belonging to the Transmission Company of
Nigeria (TCN) and the 11 Power distribution companies, DisCos.

Phase 1 of the PPI comprises several individual brownfield and greenfield transmission and distribution upgrade and expansion projects that will be executed by Siemens and other project partners. These include Transmission projects through supply and installation of transmission substations, transformers and overhead transmission lines; distribution projects through upgrade/expansion of existing substations.

Others are supply and installation of power distribution products and systems, installation and commissioning of mobile substations and power distribution lines; power system simulation and studies of software licences and associated services for TCN and DisCos, including training and technical services for TCN and DisCos; control & protection through supply of control and protection devices for TCN and DisCos; meter data management systems; extensive technical training.

Also listed on the front burner of the PMB administraion towards improving its electrification project of the country is the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station, with a capacity for providing 3,050 MW of power into the national grid when fully on stream.

When completed, it will be the largest power-generating installation in the country, and one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Africa. its construction will cost the Nigerian government $5.8 billion and is located at Kakara Village, Taraba State.

Due to the power challenges in the country, many individuals, households and organizations have resorted to fossil-fuelled generators. Nigerians spend an estimated $14 billion a year on small-scale generators.

Nigeria’s electricity system is saddled with a huge gap between the cost of generating electricity and the tariffs it receives. This gap was estimated at $2.4 billion in 2015-17. The tariff gap, says the IMF, can be closed by reducing the cost of generating and distributing electricity, and through increasing the tariff by at least 50%.

The huge gap between the tariff and operating costs has meant that Nigeria’s privatization of its electricity sector has not delivered improvements in the availability of reliable electricity. This is in part because the electricity distribution companies inherited a derelict infrastructure from the Nigerian government through the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), which was unbundled in 2005 and privatized in 2013 by the PDP-led federal government.

The strong belief of most Nigerians is that this very strategic move initiated by the President would go a long way in squarely addressing the power challenges facing Nigerians. We are confident that Nigeria will get it right this time around because President Buhari is determined to make the difference.

Musa, a public affairs analyst sent this piece from Abuja, emaij address: musahk123@yahoo.com

PANDEF Welcomes Reconstitution Of NNPC Board With Cautious Considerations

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PANDEF Welcomes Reconstitution Of NNPC Board With Cautious Considerations

The Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, has welcome the reconstitution of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, by President Muhammadu Buhari with cautious considerations. They describe the move by Mr. President c be considered mere scratching of the surface of the problem.

In a press release signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Hon. Ken Robinson, he said that the major concern of the Niger Delta Region is the skewed composition of the Executive management of the NNPC, and appointment of Chief Executives of the Corporation’s Subsidiaries. It is simply abhorrent that the Group Managing Director, GMD, the Chief Finance Officer, Finance & Account, the Corporate Secretary/Legal Adviser to the Corporation, and Chief Executives of virtually all strategic divisions and subsidiaries of the NNPC are persons from the Northern zones of the country.

The statement read, “We would, therefore, urge Mr. President to further, carry out a holistic rejigging of the lopsided NNPC management structure, and correct the imbalances, in the interest of equity, fairness, peace and national cohesion.

“It is significant to recall that the position of Group Managing Director of the NNPC was traditionally and rightly, reserved for persons from the South South Geopolitical zone, which produces about 95% of the nation’s crude extraction. It won’t be out of place, therefore, to ask for the restoration of that tradition.

“PANDEF however notes that the latest NNPC Board composition as announced by the presidency, shows a departure from the 2016 Board arrangement, which had no representation from the South-East zone, an oil producing zone, and to that extent, therefore, commendable.

“PANDEF further implores those, particularly from the Niger Delta Region, newly appointed to the Board of the NNPC, to shun partisan and miniature interests in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.

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