₦airaland Forum

“The police have gone to the scene of the crime and we could not find any car parked there; no trace of shells on the ground.”
The Commissioner of Police in the Nigerian Capital, Abuja, Olufemi Ogunbayo, has denied that there was an assassination attempt on leading opposition politician, Dino Melaye.
Mr. Ogunbayo stated this in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.
Mr. Melaye said his vehicle was shot at on Monday night in the Central Business District of Abuja; and the former federal lawmaker described the incident as an assassination attempt.
Speaking to PREMUIM TIMES on Tuesday evening, Mr. Melaye said he has reported the attempted assassination to the Abuja police boss and would further look up to God for more protection.
Mr. Ogunbayo confirmed that Mr. Melaye did actually report the incident, but said it cannot be described as an assassination attempt as there was no evidence of gunshot.
The police boss narrated what Mr. Melaye reported to the police. He said the ex-lawmaker said he was on his way home from the National Hospital, Abuja in his air conditioned car, all windows wound up, and was listening to a cool music when he noticed a range rover sport golf car drive past his.
“The car was said to have parked few meters away from his and the next thing he (Mr. Melaye) heard was a loud sound which he taught was a gunshot. Dino Melaye never said the shot was aimed at him,” the police boss said.
Mr. Ogunbayo said, “The police have gone to the scene of the crime and we could not find any car parked there; no trace of shells on the ground.”
“And there is car dealer store at the area which we went to ask if they heard any gunshot and they said no they never heard any gunshot,” he added.
The police boss said further investigation showed that Mr. Melaye’s car window is not bullet proof; and if there was a gunshot it would have penetrated straight into the car and he would have been shot dead. He said the window has a sign of a crack on it, which could have been a result of the loud sound.
“If they had wanted to kill Dino, they do not need to drive and park meters away from Dino’s car before shooting, they would have just blocked his car and shoot him at the spot, so that cannot be called an attempted assassination. And how then is it possible for you to be in your car wind up enjoying the air condition and a very cool music and then you hear a gunshot?” he said.
Mr. Ogunbayo said Mr. Melaye’s car has been returned to him and further investigations are ongoing on the matter.
Mr. Melaye, formerly a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party is now one of the most vociferous critics of the federal government. He is now a member of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria and has been at the forefront of the demand for probity and accountability in government.


http://premiumtimesng.com/news/129941-there-was-no-assassination-attempt-on-dino-melaye-abuja-police-commissioner-says.html

@sincere9gerian when they criticize don't be suprise or angry cause they are doing their job just as you are doing urs!

Its kuroji nd co job to criticize nd oppose anything FG whether good or bad while it is FG job to work and make them look stupid!

If present opposition get in power any day....it will now be d turn of present FG appologist to criticize nd oppose anything ACN or CPC.

I have come to notice that oppositions are really helping dis country! Their Criticism is putting FG on their toes and making GEJ to work.....without their work development won't be faster....whether they hav being using their sense to criticize or not.

Texas.Cowgirl:
Ramon, going through your topics, it's obvious that you're infatuated with anything Yoruba.

Lol @ tribalists switching IDs just to post tribalistic threads.

What is tribalistic about dis thread? The headline doesn't even say where d suspect is from....

Whether he is yoruba or ibo he shld be made to dance to d music he has been making since!

Once you get a job interview alert! Just google d interview venue address and u will immidately know dat it is a scam or not! All those toyin str, ogunlana str surulere etc have been discuss a million times here on nairaland as health drugs marketing company! It saves u d stress.

Even if na person wife e go kpansh and d dude decide to payback by terminating him, dino go still talk say na FG wan kill am.

I wonder wat d good of killing dino will do to GEJ....does GEJ even look like person dat can spill a blood!?

Innoson don get raw material to produce his engine block and car body be dat nah!

Driving to almost 100 percent locally sourced made in nigeria vehicles.

Eko Ile: We obviously have different interpretation for the word beautiful so stick to yours and let me stick to mine.

Again, the place looks very drab, lifeless and colorless. Reminds me of places. like North Korea, Bulgaria and Romania with dated Architecture and designs....

Pls somebody should rate dis Brain!

FOR any Nigerian enthusiastic about our groping our way back unto the road to industrialisation, the two pieces of news I read recently must be heart-warming. Last week, a company in Lagos, African Foundries Limited claimed that it would begin to export steel products on 27 April 2013.

This week, on Thursday 18 April 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, is going to Commission Wempco Steel Mills Ltd located at KM 8, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. What makes Wempco’s 5-Stand Tandem Cold Rolled Steel Mill important is that it is going to produce flat sheets!

Let us take our minds back to the ’70s and early ’80s. Ikeja and Iganmu areas of Lagos boasted of several steel foundries and steel end user factories. I remember some companies that produced refrigerators and air conditioners in this country. We had vehicle Assembly plants that were able to fabricate some of their parts locally.

Tax reliefs were also extended to pioneer industries. The Customs had all the incentives to tackle smuggling and concealment, before some smart Alec brought pre-shipment inspection that ceded Customs job to foreigners whose companies are in competition with our local manufacturers! With the above incentives, industries boomed in Nigeria. Although some foreigners abused some of the incentives, yet our industries were waxing strong and providing the needed jobs.

But in 1973, following the post Yom Kippur war oil boom, we removed all restrictions on imports, opened our borders for dumping and the factories began to die while we watched the Excess Crude Account! Even today, Nigeria is still a dumping ground for goods we can produce here. It is mere hypocrisy to cry for investments without protecting the local industries, World Trade Organisation or not. The other day, I bought a bunch of bananas only to discover that it was imported from Camerouns! Bananas?

If you consider the number of end users that will utilise Wempco’s flat sheets and the jobs that will be created for engineers, electricians by fabricators and makers of the end user products I enumerated above, as well as artisans-mechanics, painters and drivers-we will be looking at almost 50,000 direct jobs and limitless other job opportunities.

But the company, like many others, is likely to have the usual Nigerian fiscal mismatch of its raw materials attracting the same rate of duty as similar finished imported products. I can bet that because of attendant deficit, it may have even invested a huge sum in providing power, water and bad roads, not to talk of insecurity.

These items often increase cost of production and make goods uncompetitive in Nigerian against imported ones. And that is inimical to our Made-in-Nigeria drive. So the Federal Government has a duty to jealously protect investments that provide jobs in the country. That is its primary responsibility because no government can provide all the jobs needed by its teeming unemployed.

This must be emphasised because notwithstanding that Nigeria has enormous gas reserves and even flairs enough to sustain some African countries, yet, one of the major challenges dogging our power sector is inadequate of gas supply! Nigeria is blessed with abundant iron ore, coal and gas.

Ordinarily, there should be no reason for us not to be a major player in the steel sector, except, as I said earlier, bad politics and government’s policy of inconsistency and instability. This is the time to begin to understand the needs of manufacturing industries in Nigeria and systematically solve them. Last week, the Minister of National Planning, Dr ShamsudeenUsman said that the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government is a medium term development strategy to speed up Nigeria’s march towards becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020.

He said the strategy is anchored on job creation and laying a foundation for robust economy (Sunday Sun 14 April 2013). President Jonathan’s trip to Wempco Mill Ltd on Thursday must not be purely ceremonial. He must go beyond the tape cutting ritual to have a private audience with the company and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN to understand and address their problems.

Others factories were fabricating steel chairs and steel cabinets. Today those foundries and factories are shop front churches. The same is true of many Textile and shoe factories. The products of those factories are today being imported, a great drain on the nation’s foreign exchange.

The Wempco Mills which President Jonathan will commission on Thursday is a game changer in Nigeria’s industrialisation, because it is going to produce flat sheets. We all know that steel is at the root of industrial revolution. We only need to look around our homes and appreciate the numerous household products that are made of steel, especially flat steel, from refrigerators, air conditioners, computers, printers, standing and ceiling fans, enamelware to aerosol cans.

Look outside and see the oil tank farms, oil pipelines, ship and auto bodies, tubes, pressure vessels and roofing sheets to appreciate the importance of steel in our lives. It is for this that at a time, the development level of countries was measured by their consumption of steel. Major developed countries like USA, Germany, Japan, Britain and France are still heavy consumers of steel.

The world’s steel production stood at 790 million metric tonnes in 1999-2000 and 50 per cent of this was produced in developing world. But regrettably, Nigeria was not there! India at the same period produced 1,686,700 metric tonnes and is 100 per cent self-sufficient in Cold Rolled Flat Sheets, satisfying over 50 per cent of India’s requirement in the auto sector. It is not surprising that Tata Steel of India progressed from being a major steel producer to a major auto maker in India with their vehicle products making in roads into Nigerian market today.

In fairness, the Federal Government recognised the centrality of steel in the nation’s development and tried to address our need. It set up the Ajeokuta Steel Mill as well as several Steel Rolling Mills across the country. But politics ruined that effort. First, some of the Steel Mills were wrongly sited purely for political reasons. Secondly, most of the Rolling Mills were producing rods instead of flats.

That was understandable given the boom in the construction industry in the seventies which occasioned the infamous cement armada! Thirdly, because the Mills were government companies, choice of management toed the line of political patronage and soon the companies were run aground! Even to sell these Mills off to private hands for better management have been fraught with politics and corruption!

When the President commissions the Wempco Mills on Thursday, Nigeria would be taking a significant step towards creating impetus for our steel industry and local contents. Nigeria’s annual demand for cold rolled steel flat sheets today is estimated at 1.2 million tonnes, unfortunately, mostly imported.

The Wempco production capacity, I understand, is 700,000 metric tonnes per annum with additional expansion capacity for 300,000 tonnes per annum. With necessary encouragement, Wempco and other companies in the steel sector can reduce our imports and even make Nigeria a major exporter of various steel products in the long run.

It will be recalled that, in the ’70s, many industries thrived in the country through incentives such as refunds and duty draw back on raw materials used to produce goods for export. Nigerian industries were also protected through fiscal measures that imposed high import duties and absolute prohibition (trade) on goods produced in Nigeria and low or outright exempt on duty on essential raw materials. Excise duties were annually structured to encourage local production.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/04/reviving-the-steel-sector/

While going back from work today I noticed that the Third mainland bridge streetlight is being presently revived and restored! The oworoshoki end is already up and running.

This is another delivered promised by GEJ!....

The bridge has now been repaired, resurfaced, repainted, marked and the streetlight presently being finalized.

Sorry no picture! Tight position where I am

To be fair and unbiased! Gej should not talk about removing subsidy again.....cause literally FG shouldn't be saying they are still subsidizing petrol at current 97 naira per liter if you put in consideration the present NNPC arrangement of Fuel importation and supply,

NNPC is given about 300,000 barrels from 2.5million barrels nigeria produces in joint ventures with oil majors free by the Govt which they ship to refineries abroad and they are exchange for the equivalent of refined products after negotiation with refiners....The products are now shipped back to nigeria and sold to downstream marketers who are presently not importing any product at depot price of 85-93 naira.

With this arrangement NNPC should be making profit at current 97 naira per liter since crude is given to them free by the govt of nigeria.

Thats why i don't see the reason for the persistent call and debate on fuel subsidy total removal,cause sensibly NNPC only pays for logistics of bringing in the products and should still be making profit from the amount they sell to marketers.

Cause with this sure-P they are trying to justify the money realized from the last increase to ask for total removal which is unnecessary and dubious.

SURE-P Approved Projects For 2012/2013
Social Safety Net

Community Service, Women and Youth Empowerment Programme

Current status

The CSWYE subcommittee of SURE-P has visited Oyo, Osun, Edo, Delta, Kano, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Adamawa, Niger, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Kwara States and have:

Conveyed to the state governors the preparedness of SURE-P to commence the take-off of the CSWYE projects in their states;
Gained first hand understanding of the structures in these states for the roll out of the projects;
Ascertained the impact of the Federal CSWYE PIU’s interaction with the respective state liaison officers on SURE-P for the roll out of the projects;
Identified opportunities and/or impediments that may enhance or impede the success of the roll-out of the CSWYE project in the states

Maternal and Child Health Care

Current Status/ Percentage Completed

Inception budget has been released for the following activities,
Screening and Recruitment of Midwives and CHEWS in 6 Geopolitical zones
Assessment for 500 PHCs and 125 GHs under SURE-P
Orientation and Development of 200 Midwives in 6 geopolitical zones
Orientation and Development of 2000 CHEWS in 6 geopolitical zones
PIU Office set-up and running costs (rent, office equipment, salaries, consultancy fees, office maintenance etc.)
Communications and Advocacy, including communication materials, development workshops and SURE-P Committee meeting Governors Forum
State Readiness Assessment plus assessment/re-activation/information of WDC status in all pilot sites across in 6 geopolitical zones.
Development and production of CCT registers, logbooks and reporting tools, sensitization meetings, and messages for awareness creation.
Orientation meeting with Chairmen of WDC and Officers-in-charge (OICs) of the PHCs on CCTs.


Roads and Bridges Projects

Roads/Bridges Distance Zone
1 Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja Dual Carriageway 200KM NC
2 Benin-Ore-Sagamu Dual Carriageway 295KM SW/SS
3 Onitsha-Enugu-P.H. Dual Carriageway 317KM SE
4 Kano-Maiduguri Dual Carriageway 510KM NW/NE
5 East – West Road 338KM SS
6 Construction of Oweto Bridge 2KM NC
7 Construction of 2nd Niger Bridge 2KM SS/SE
TOTAL 1,664KM


Railway Projects

Railways Distance Zone
1 Abuja - Kaduna Standard Gauge 187KM NC/NW
2 Port Harcourt - Umuahia - Enugu -Makurdi - Lafia - Kuru - Kafanchan -Jos - Bauchi - Gombe – Maiduguri 2,119KM SS/SE/NC/NE
3 Lagos-Ibadan-Ilorin-Jebba-Minna-Kaduna - Zaria - Kano 1,124KM SW/NW
TOTAL 3,430KM


http://www.sure-p.gov.ng/index.cfm/sure-programmes/approved-projects-for-20122013/

what of the states sure-p? fashola has not told us what and where his sure-p funds are going to? even if they use theirs to pay 10,000 agberos stipends every month

Dude go and buy generator! And wait till nex yr for regular power supply....thats what GEJ promised you. the power situation is still work in progress and about rounding up according to people in charge

If by early next yr situation is still d same then call for sacking of d govt and i believe GEJ will admit failure and go.

Google is in talks to acquire cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp, a new report claims.

Google and WhatsApp have been talking for "four or five weeks," according to Digital Trends, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of the negotiations.

So far, WhatsApp has been able to push the acquisition price to nearly $1 billion by "playing hardball," Digital Trends' source says.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications available to mobile users.

The app allows users on just about any mobile platform, including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone, to instant-message with each other, as well as send images, audio, and video messages. The messaging app essentially allows for cross-platform texting without having to pay for SMS.

In January, WhatsApp announced that it had set a personal record on New Year's Eve, with 7 billion inbound messages sent that day. Another 11 billion outbound messages were sent. WhatsApp's previous one-day record stood at 10 billion total messages.

Whether WhatsApp is actually worth $1 billion, though, is up for debate.

That's the price that Facebook paid for Instagram last year, and some believed the deal didn't land in the social network's favor.

WhatsApp, while popular, doesn't have the kind of cache that Instagram did at the time of that acquisition, making such a valuation seem high.

And since the Digital Trends story comes from only one source, it's important to take it with a grain of salt at this time.


http://businessdaynigeria.com/google-may-acquire-whatsapp-nearly-1-billion

That should earn him a red card since pulling shirt earns you a yellow card!

Juventus' Mirko Vucinic celebrates after scoring against Pescara during their Italian Serie A soccer match at the Juventus stadium in Turin!

Africa’s biggest reality show, Big Brother Africa (BBA) will enter its eighth season next month. To celebrate it, Daily Independent reliably gathered from an inside source that Kukere singer, Iyanaya Mbuk, is billed to feature in the show which will commence on May 26, 2013.

Apart from Iyanya, Dammy Krane from Nigeria, Uganda’s Desire Luzinda and Jackie (Obessions), Makosi, South Africa’s socialite Kanyi Mbau, Ghana’s Vera Sidika and musician, Sarkodie as well as other celebrities across Africa, are also expected to perform.

Efforts to reach Iyanya as at the time of going to press proved abortive as he didn’t reply the message sent him by our reporter.

M-Net Africa is the organiser of BBA Africa, a show reported to have hit one million likes on Facebook. Late singer, Goldie Harvey was a contestant in the 7th Edition and her appearance in the show generated lots of controversies.


http://dailyindependentnig.com/2013/04/inyanya-to-feature-in-bba-season-8/

mimima: how old are you?

He Cant be more than 12! and another diaper 12yr mumu Mod will soon take dis to FP!

orlaryhincah2: Chidinma is Miss Kedike, one of the past winners of MTN Project Fame. You ask our Dear Google 4 more info.

Na lie thats not project fame chidinma, this is another chidinma, she spells her own another way.

who knows how to embed video on nairaland should help out and embed the video! am finding it had to.

The National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday in Abuja expressed optimism that by 2015, only 27.2 per cent of the nation’s population would be poor.

The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, NBS, Dr. Yemi Kale, represented by the Assistant Director, Millennium Development Goals, NBS, Mr. Iro Godwin, said this during a dialogue organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals to review the progress report made by Nigeria on international agreed goals.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, will present the country at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission’s Annual Ministerial Review coming up in June in Switzerland.

Kale said, “In 2004, we ran the first National Living Standard Survey and we estimated the number of Nigerians that were living below poverty line at 54.4 per cent.

“Between 1999 and 2015, if we divide 54.4 per cent by two to enable us draw our target, it is expected that by 2015, only 27.2 per cent of Nigeria’s population will be poor.”

Based on the last research conducted in 2010, the NBS noted that the country would need to build about 37.2 per cent of its population to live above the present national poverty line.

Earlier, the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, represented by Mr. Abraham Taiwo, unveiled plans to make public the nation’s MDG information system soon.

The minister said the system, which will be accessible by governmental and non-governmental organisations, would be vital for policy planning and implementation by all stakeholders.

“Nigeria now has a comprehensive map of health, education, and water and sanitation facilities throughout the country. Not only are the locations of these facilities mapped, but their capacity has been recorded and the gaps in capacity highlighted. All these will soon be made public for policy making and implementation,” Usman said.

The minister further said the MDG information system developed by the Nigeria MDGs Office in partnership with the UN Country Team was designed to increase the accuracy of targeted investment and accelerate the developmental progress at both national and sub-national levels.

He added that the NMIS had been useful in guiding the investment of country’s $1bn debt relief gains in pro-poor activities, especially in the implementation of the Conditional Grant Scheme.

According to him, the CGS has been successful in encouraging states and local governments to increase their spending in areas of education, health and water.

In her remarks, Gbeneol said the forum provided an opportunity for stakeholders to review the progress and challenges being faced in the implementation of the MDGs in the country.

She noted that the national report that would be compiled from contributions at the forum wouldl highlight progress made in the implementation of the national development strategies and policies, key challenges as well as lessons learned for scaling up efforts.

ECOSOC initiated the AMR mechanism for the international community to assess and advance progress towards the IADGs, which includes the MDGs in 2007.


http://naijaobserver./2013/04/05/only-27-2-of-nigeriansll-be-poor-by-2015-nbs/

Just when you think you’ve seen all there is to see on the embarrassing interview Obafaiye Shem, the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had on Channels Television morning programme recently, Ghanaian actors John Dumelo, Majid Michel and Yvonne Nelson decided to have fun dancing to DJ Ziggy’s ‘Oga At The Top’ remix, which went viral on social media some weeks ago. ENJOY!

http://www.keek.com/!FxZ8bab

@ playmode my honest advise! Tarry a while for SA, give it a two year break and relocate 2015! You will be glad you did.... Nigeria will by then be condusive to raise a family! Nigeria for now is a work in process.....there is a men at work sign at the airport! so tarry a while.

she looks like a wall gecko!

But OP one question....how did d said 60k they said you withdrew now became 220k they say u are now owing them?

Are they now charging you interest on a mistake their teller did according to their story?

We debated this topic for a long time.....i dont know why it still coming up all the time!

For all those calling innoson vehicles as assembled cars, it is only the CKD(complete knockdown engine dat is imported from japan every other component of the vehicles are made locally by innoson and other local nnewi based manufactures......the plastic components of his cars like the bumpers,fenders, side mirrors etc are all produced at innoson plastics at his emene enugu factory.....battery is produced by Ibeto industry....another nnewi manufacture does the seats and upholstery....the chasis as you can see from the pic is fabricated at the main innoson nnewi factory, the other small rubber components of his cars are done by one small manufacture or the other all at the east.

This is how every other motor manufacture all over the world produce their cars......the next phase of innoson is to gather a team of automobile engineers under his pay role that will now start to design and produce his engines in nigeria which is difficult now because of lack of iron and steel industry in nigeria

Vision 2020 becoming a reality!

South africa be ready to lose ur position as africa biggest economy!

After initial hiccups, the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) has begun a monthly delivery of completed new projects towards the realisation of additional 4,774 megawatts, signaling a harvest time for Niger Delta Power HoldingCompany, Ejiofor Alike writes


Apparently miffed by the epileptic power situation in the country and the abysmal failure of the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) to address the situation, the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in 2004 set in motion a process to break the monopoly ofthe ailing power utility giant.
To actualise this aspiration, the former president had in the same year set up the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) as “a fast-track government-funded initiative to stabilise” the country’s power supply, which had suffered decades of lackof sustained investments.


The NIPP initiative, which is adjudged as one of Obasanjo’s greatest legacies, was to be quickly followed by private sector-led electricity industry with the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005 as the driver.
Under the initial NIPP concept, seven medium-sized gas-fired power stations in the Niger Delta, and the relevant transmission facilities to evacuate the power were envisaged to complement the existing power infrastructure.
Since the NIPP would provide free electricity supply to the communities living within 5-kilometre radius from the power plants, distribution projects were also incorporated into the programme.


In order to avoid one of the problems that crippled NEPA, which was inadequate funding or bureaucratic bottleneck that delayed release of funding for replacement and maintenance of aging infrastructure, the National Council of State and the National Assembly in August2005 gave express approval of $2.5 billion for NIPP from the Excess Crude Oil Account(ECOA) belonging to the three tiers of government.
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) was also set up as a limited liability company, “to serve as the legal vehicle to hold the NIPP assets using private sector-oriented best business practices”.


However, when Obasanjo handed over to anew administration in 2007, the power sector witnessed a major setback as the status of the NIPP as it relates to funding, legal and political issues was queried by the new administration, resulting in the suspension of all the projects under the programme for two and a half years.
Lifting of Suspension
But after realising belatedly that there wasno alternative to NIPP, the administration’sNational Economic Council (NEC) at the end of 2008 agreed to approve the release of $5.375 billion from the ECOA as a PowerEmergency Fund to complete the projects.


Consequently, NEC in 2009 set up a NIPP Steering Council headed by then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to drive the aspiration, with six state governors representing each of geopolitical zones and four ministers as members. The steering council has since been renamed the Board of Directors of NDPHC and chaired by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo.
Before the NIPP was suspended, $2.8 billion had been invested, and this figure included $1.78 billion in funded letters of credits which allowed some of the projectsto continue skeletally during the period of suspension.


Contracted commitments, however, amounted to $7.385 billion before the interruption of the projects.
Since the suspension of the NIPP was lifted, Nigeria’s power sector has witnessed unprecedented quantum of investments, with a lot of brand new projects completed and new generation capacity added to the national grid on a continuous basis.


It is widely believed by the stakeholders that if the two and a half years were not wasted in debating the political, legal and financial status of the NIPP, the country would have since realised the 4,774megawatts capacity target from the various power stations under the programme.
Period of Harvest


The NIPP dream, which was almost killed between 2007 and 2008, has become the backbone of the power sector as new projects are being inaugurated monthly bythe Niger Delta Holding Company (NDHC), owners of the NIPP, to boost the capacity of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Today, most of the 10 brand new power stations under the programme have almost been completed.


In fact, apart from the 225mw capacity Gbarain Ubie Power Station in Bayelsa State, where construction work has not progressed significantly because the contractor, Rockson Engineering Limited was said to be having site-related challenges, almost all the other NIPP plants are set to undergo test-running.
For instance, the test-firing of the 1,074mw capacity Alaoji Power Station in Abia State has been ongoing.


The 450mw-capacity Sapele Power Stationin Delta State has also been technically completed, with one of the gas turbines already running before inadequate gas supply interrupted the operation of the plant. The 750megawatt capacity Olorunsogo Power Station Phase 11 in Ogun State has also been completed.
The 561mw power station in Ikot Nyong, near Calabar, which is popularly referred to as the Calabar Power Station was scheduled to start operation by the end of March 2013 or the beginning of April.


However, the Site Manager of the Calabar NIPP, Mr. Paul Akinola, said for the plant tostart generating electricity as scheduled, gas would have to be sourced from United Cement Company (UNICEM), also in Calabar.
The 500mw capacity Omotosho Power Station Phase 11 in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State is also technically completed. The test-firing of the 450mw capacity Ihovbor Power Stationin Edo State is also ongoing.


German power giant, Siemens has also almost completed the construction of the 434mw capacity NIPP’s Geregu Power Station Phase 11 in Kogi State, with one unit running. The German firm had during the tenure of Obasanjo completed the firstGeregu plant of the same generating capacity for the PHCN.
Other NIPP power stations at the advancedstage of completion include the 338mw capacity Egbema Power Station in Imo State and the 250mw Omoku Power Plant in Rivers State.
However, only the Gbarain Ubie Power Station suffered protracted delay, being the only power plant across the country that was being built in an area that was four metres below sea level, while other power stations were sited on rocky terrain.
Since Gbarain was four metres below sea level, Rockson Engineering spent nearly two years removing the bad top soil; fillingthe site and compacting the sand to ensure a quality delivery.


So, the contractor was said to be having some specific site-related challenges, which was not the fault of the contractor orthe promoters of the NIPP.
Surprisingly, Gbarain Ubie plant, which hassuffered the worst protracted delay in construction, is the only NIPP power station and indeed the only gas-fired station in Nigeria where gas supply will not be an issue.


This is courtesy of a nearby $1billion Shell Petroleum Development Company’s Gbarain Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Project that is currently ready to deliver more than enough gas to the plant.
To evacuate the power to be generated from the NIPP stations about 1,737 circuit kilometres of 330Kv lines and 940kilometres of 132Kv lines have so far been constructed as part of the transmission projects under the NIPP.



These transmission projects, which are split into 105 separate projects, include 40transmission lines, 45 transmission sub-stations, 20 sub-station extensions and telecommunication protection infrastructures to cover all NIPP power plants and transmission lots.
There are also ongoing and completed NIPP distribution projects in all the 11 Distribution Companies unbundled from the PHCN. Some of the distribution projects include 1,701 kilometres of 33Kv lines; 2,666km of 11Kv lines and 3,540MVA additional injection capacity.



It was also gathered that more than 22,598No. 25Kv and 50Kv distribution transformers, including Completely Self-Protected (CSP) transformers have also been provided under the NIPP.
Inaugurating the newly-upgraded Ikeja West Substation - 330/132KV in Ayobo area of Lagos, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPHC, Mr. James Abiodun Olotu, stated that the country committed about $8billion in the establishment of the 10 power stations for the generation of additional 4,774mw. He also confirmed that the $8billion emergency power intervention project for the additional supply of 4,774 megawatts would be completed by the first quarter of 2014.


Olotu noted that the progressive delivery of the additional generation capacity was targeted to be completed by December 2013, but due to the involvement of a few high- tech customised equipment, the projects would spill over to 2014.
He said four out of the 10 stations had already been completed in Lagos, Delta, Ondo and Ogun States, all contributing about 1,500MW to the national grid.


The remaining six power stations which Olotu said were almost 90 per cent completed and scheduled for unveiling, would generate over 2,500mw. He noted that the NDPHC had made a commitment to Nigerians to deliver power by inaugurating a project every month across the country.


Recently, NDPHC also delivered eight distribution projects in South-east and South-South regions of the country. During the inauguration of the projects, Olotu saidNIPP projects were meant to provide improved power supply to all parts of the Country.


“We have said that this year will be a yearof bumper harvest with NIPP projects. No part of the country is left out, so we will continue to commission projects as they are completed in different parts of the country,” Deputy General Manager and Head of Communication & Public Relations, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, quoted Olotu as saying.
Lawal listed the projects completed and inaugurated in four states to include, 15MVA 33/11 distribution injection Sub-station in Uluku Edo State; and 7.5MVA 33/11 distribution substation each in Isele Uku and Illah in Delta states respectively.


Also inaugurated were,1x7.5MVA injection sub-station each in Orafite and Amichi in Anambra State; a 2x2.5MVA Eke distribution injection sub-station and 7.5MVA distribution injection substation in Trade Fair area of Enugu as well as 7.5MVA injection sub-station in New Heaven also in Enugu state.


There are also ongoing transmission projects in Asaba in Delta State; Awka in Anambra State; Ugwuaji and New Heaven in Enugu State.
Vice President Namadi Sambo has indeed directed the contractors handling various projects to hasten action to meet deadline of completing the projects on or before December 2013.


“2013 is the end year for all NIPP projects in the country. Nigerians must receive the power that we are able to generate and that is why you have been given this assignment,” he reportedly said.
As part of the project delivery strategy, Sambo has slated a pre-commissioning milestones meeting in his office, with NDPHC management, contractors and project consultants by this April.



Sambo had on January 26 meeting with the distribution and transmission contractors given them the end of June 2013 to deliver all distribution projects andDecember 2013 for all transmission projects.
For the NIPP, a lofty dream that was nearlytruncated, it is indeed a period of harvest of completed brand new projects for positive transformation of Nigeria’s power sector, subject to availability of power supply to fire the turbines.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/accelerating-delivery-of-projects-a-period-of-harvest-for-nipp-/143840/

idupaul: Be decieving urself there .. We know ur are the OP

very dull brain! he couldnt even hide it.

emmysenior: I just made an inter-network call, (Glo-MTN) to be precise, for 103 sec. & I was charged 18 naira, 45kobo, I was kind of disappointed because I had already set my mind on 6.40k per minute flat rate, or was it an April fool stunt by the NCC on Nigerians? Pls let's know if anyone has experienced it yet.



Thanks

Dude go and read dat report again! and stop showing ur ignorance! The 6.40k is call termination rates operators will pay each other for terminating the calls btw themselves, not what a customer pays....Operators are at liberty to fixed any price they want on top of those rates. it could be higher or lower, its all at d operator marketing team prerogative.

Nice one OP!
but the clueless one is out performing the harvard arm chair critics!