₦airaland Forum

Mbaka Endorses Buhari’s Second Term Bid


January 2, 2019


Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

Fiery Catholic Priest and the Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN), Reverend Fr. Ejike Mbaka, yesterday urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term bid in order to continue with his good works.

“A president that is fighting corruption need to be supported,” Mbaka said as he delivered his New Year Prophetic message to Nigerians.



The Catholic cleric, however, predicted that the country would face an unimaginable difficulty in 2019 and therefore charged Nigerians to brace up to the situation.

He also called for serious prayers for the country.

While praying for the country and her leaders, the outspoken Catholic priest enjoined Nigerians to support President Buhari to continue the fight against corruption, noting that the Catholic Church supports the fight against corruption hence it is sustained prayers against “bribery and corruption.”

He said: “We pray for President Muhammadu Buhari; he is a man who understands the situation. Since Nigeria started, we have never experienced a president that has agricultural programmes like him. It’s like calling somebody a thief in the media but you are not a thief.

“For 16 years, the road from Anambra to Enugu was over-grown with weeds but within four years the road is being reconstructed and the same way they are doing it to Umuahia. This one that remembered us may God bless him. Since he has remembered us may God remember him. In short, it shall be well with him.

“Four years doesn’t mean eight years; he has finished his four years, I pray for peaceful transition that he may complete his remaining four years. He will hand over to a better person, may the Lord keep him. When he was sick, he was almost dead and we said prayer and God granted him healing. God knows the purpose for allowing him to be alive; if God doesn’t want him, he could have died.

“Because the remaining four years is constitutionally sacrosanct, no matter what happens. After the four years, he must hand over. We don’t want to continue another eight years of probability. Remember he was sick and now healed. Under three years, we are comparing somebody’s three years to 16 years of some group. Say if it is you. A primary three pupil is asked to come and seat exam with PhD, check it and even the child is doing very well.

“We pray that God will protect him from those who said if he doesn’t change he must be changed. The issue of Fulani herdsmen they said have killed everybody has stopped. Nobody is hearing about the bandits anymore; the man has changed. The roads that were not going has started going. A lot of things are happening now which nobody knows. May the lord protect Buhari; it shall be well with our president. May the Lord bless his workers (the good ones) and may the Lord give Buhari courage when he comeback again he will fire them,” he said.

He also rallied support for Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State in their bid to go for second term.

“It shall be well with you. His name is wealth reach home may God bless him. I will not greet everyone without praying for our governor and friend, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. We bless God for him. Enugu has never seen it like this, for first time in the history of Enugu The and Vikings are not fighting, only a man like him that can do it. In his time Chief Nwodo and Ken Nnamani are friends; in his time Fidelis Okoro and Nwodo’s are not fighting. While he is developing Nsukka; he is developing Awgu, Udi, Nkanu; it’s impact is everywhere.

“He said that Enugu State is in the hands of God; he believes in God and we have to hand him over to God because Enugu is in peace. There is no other state in this country that can have this kind of peace. The governor has united leaders of different denominations; he doesn’t discriminate, no community is marginalised, he loves the youth. Generations will not forget you. Adoration Ministry will not forget you.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/02/mbaka-endorses-buharis-second-term-bid/

THE 36-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR BUILDING NIGERIA’S FIRST GOLD REFINERY AND HER VISION TO TRANSFORM AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY

Niyi Aderibigbe
Dec. 31 2018


“Congratulations,” said the voice at the other end of the call. It was the fifth call Nere Teriba received in less than 10 minutes. There are also messages on her phone, which she plans to read much later. They are all congratulatory messages. “Go, girl. You rock!” reads the message staring at her as she peeped at her phone for the last time, repeating the words she had read almost inaudibly. Surprised at the sudden frenzy about a gold refining license her company secured months earlier, Nere smiles as she recalls months of hard work. Kian Smith can finally start smithing.

Starting in 2019, Nere Teriba, Vice Chairman of Kain Smith Trade & Co Ltd., will become the first and youngest Nigerian to refine gold locally.

“On one hand, we can say it took a few months, on the other hand, it took seven years,” says 36-year-old Nere Teriba as she tells The Nerve Africa how long it took the company to secure the gold refining license.

It was a meeting of preparation and opportunity for Nere, who had a proposal on a gold reserve buying programme for the country ready when she was invited to join the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) focus labs. Her proposal highlighted the need for a gold policy and a framework for gold refinery license permit structure for anyone who wants to apply for one.

The proposal by Nere’s Kian Smith made a case for the establishment of a Nigerian Gold Council which will be in charge of the country’s gold policy.

“The establishment of the council will drive innovation, stimulate the economy, and generate income for government coffers,” the proposal states. “Nigeria can become a gold economy irrespective of whether it mines gold or not. India, UAE, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and London are renowned world gold markets without the classification of gold mining countries.”

Kian Smith raised some important questions in its proposal, some of which formed the basis of our (TheNerve Africa) discussion with Nere when we met her at an art-themed tea room in Victoria Island, Lagos in October, weeks before the groundbreaking of her refinery.

Nere paused at different intervals during our conversation, politely explaining, each time, why she had to answer her phone calls. Nere runs a multimillion-dollar minerals, commodities and mineral services company, which has grown tremendously over seven years. Sleeves always up, ready to work, Nere plays in a male-dominated industry, where women sometimes have to work twice as hard to make desired impact. To Nere, mining is a calling and she would give all it takes to help Nigeria and by extension, West Africa harness the mining economy.

How can the existing gold value chain be organized and strengthened? One of the questions posed in Kian Smith’s proposal stems from Nere’s belief that the Nigerian mining industry is not as broken as most people believe.

“The issue is not that there is no regulation, it’s just that they are not enforced,” explains Nere, who has plans on how to help the government solve some of the major challenges faced in the mining industry, especially as it concerns artisanal and small-scale miners.

Mining in Nigeria

Organized mining in Nigeria started in 1903 when the British Secretary of State for the Colonies established the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria. In 1904, a survey of the Northern Protectorate was also established as the exploration of mineral resources for use as raw materials in Britain began. As a result, several mineral deposits including Columbite, Bitumen, Coal, Iron Ore and Gold were discovered. However, it was not until 1913 that Gold production started, peaking in the 1930s before World War II brought about a decline.

Nigeria had no choice but to participate in the war, being a colony of Britain. With Britain’s economic, industrial and military power weakened by World War I, the kingdom fell back on its colonies, using both their human and natural resources to prosecute WWII. Colonial companies abandoned mines during the war and the gold mining industry has not recovered since then.

Although in the 1980s the Nigerian Mining Corporation (NMC) resumed gold exploration, it could not sustain it. Fast forward to the 2000s, artisanal mining has become a thing in Nigeria, from Bin Yauri in northern Nigerian’s Kebbi State, to Bagega in Zamfara State where 163 people died from lead poisoning in 2010.

Artisanal Mining

Artisanal mining had peaked in Bagega when gold prices skyrocketed during the Great Recession. Even farmers left their crops and focused on mining. During the period, the price of gold went as high as $1,000 per troy ounce, so much that even small finds by small-scale miners paid well.

Till date, most of the mining done in Nigeria is done by artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), making regulations difficult to enforce.

Illegal Gold Mining In Nigeria

“The thing is, there has been a huge gap. We abandoned the sector, went for oil and the people took up the vacuum,” Nere explains, adding that their activities, while artisanal are not necessarily illegal.

“So, illegal miners are not necessarily artisanal miners. Sometimes, there are huge companies mining illegally. Mining illegally is if you are mining off permit and not following due process,” the Kian Smith boss explains.

With a renewed commitment to developing the mining industry, the Nigerian government, like others across Africa, is beginning to recognize how important artisanal and small-scale miners are to the growth of the industry. Hence, the government ministry in charge of mining in Nigeria is trying to formalise artisanal mining to ensure some form of regulation in the space.

Kian Smith is working with small and medium scale miners to source gold for its refinery. The company is also working with artisanal miners, whose activities it is going to be an important part of formalising.

“One of the major reasons several small-scale miners are not formalised is because of royalty payments, but we have found a way around this,” Nere says, explaining how Kian Smith will ensure the ASMs it works with are formalised. “One of the incentives we want to give our suppliers is paying royalties on their behalf.”

The idea seems to be working fine, as Kian Smith has been able to sign up 200 suppliers in less than three weeks. “We will help them get registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in January,” Nere says.

Kian Smith will also be sourcing gold for its refinery from other parts of Africa, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. One supplier working across Ghana and Sierra Leone has already committed to supplying Kian Smith 100Kg of gold per month. In all, the company has signed Memoranda of Understanding with about 200 suppliers.

Although Nigeria is believed to have gold reserves of up to 200 million oz, there are no records to show exactly how much gold is mined in the country.

“But from my research, there are about 2 tonnes of gold physically in circulation each month,” says Nere. However, she admits that “we can’t quantify how much of that 2 tonnes is from neighboring African countries, and how much of that 2 tonnes is mined locally”.

Nigeria’s neighbors have been more productive, with Ghana producing 95 tonnes of gold in 2015. Mali produced 50 tonnes in the same year and Burkina Faso produced 34 tonnes, but Nigeria could only manage 4 tonnes, as records show. Nere believes this figure shows how much the country could be losing by not formalising artisanal mining which even accounted for a huge percentage of the 4 tonnes reported in 2015. Most of the countries with decent gold production records in Africa have begun to recognise artisanal mining and are looking for ways to formalise their activities.

However, governments committed to reducing illegal mining to the barest minimum can pay for a tech solution such as Kian Smith’s and make it accessible to artisanal miners for free. That could be a huge step in formalising artisanal mining, especially in Nigeria.

Nere Teriba, Kian Smith, Nigeria's 1st Gold Refinery
Photo Credits: Fotolighthouse for TheNerveAfrica
Investing in Mining

There have been attempts in the past to bring the mining industry up to date to make it attractive to private investment. Beginning in 2007, the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act was introduced, setting the rules for the exploration and exploitation of solid minerals. The law stated that the government owns all the country’s mineral resources. However, in 2011, the year Kian Smith was registered in the country, the government released new mining regulations, which was believed would bring about greater accountability in the sector. This also, was reviewed, leading to the Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry which was adopted in September 2016.

The country is gradually getting it right, showing an unprecedented commitment to the growth of the mining industry, with the issuance of a gold refining licence to Kian Smith one of the recent wins in the industry. The company has already started work on the site of its new refinery in Ogun State, south west Nigeria. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari broke the ground at the site on December 13 as construction began.

“During the focus labs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration, we discovered that a well organised gold value chain can trigger an economic revolution like it did in India, South Africa, Switzerland and others,” Hon. Bwari said at the groundbreaking ceremony. He explained that his Ministry was determined to develop the mining sector to increase its contribution to Nigeria’s GDP, improve its capacity to create jobs and engender sustainable mining.


Ongoing construction work at site of Kian Smith Gold Refinery in Nigeria’s Ogun State.


Nere says the refinery will be ready to start production by the end of the first half of 2019.

While Nere did not disclose details of investment in the new refinery, which she says include both local and international interests, she says Kian Smith is working with several banks, including Stanbic IBTC Bank and Zenith Bank Plc. According to her, Kian Smith is also in talks with the African Finance Corporation (AFC).

“The truth is, we need banks,” says Nere. “Not even so much for the setup; we need banks for the trading. To buy an unlimited amount of gold, at any time, to refine; we need the banks,” Nere says

She dismisses the widely held belief that banks are not committed to the mining industry.

“The issue with banks is ‘show me your bankable feasibility study (BFS)’, and most Nigerian miners cannot show that, because they haven’t got the investors who will do the work to produce the BFS. So, the thing is banks are looking for that; Nigerians don’t have that.”

She adds that a bank would like to see a supply contract, a buying contract; “those are the transactions that banks are considering”.

Nere believes that for every player in the mining industry who can get their acts together, banks are always ready to do business. After all, she’s working with some banks to bring her refinery to life next year. Nere says the refinery has the potential to provide more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. But beyond jobs, Kian Smith is interested in helping to build the gold value chain in Nigeria.

Nere is hopeful things will get better but admits the mining industry in Nigeria is a tough one to play in. She highlights policy inconsistency and the reaction of mining communities to operators as two of the major challenges the industry faces.

“The reason why the sector has struggled and even investors have issues is because the Nigerian ecosystem does not encourage long-term investment and perseverance to get anything,” Nere says. “Everybody wants money now.”

One of the issues Nere’s Kian Smith is taking up with the government is how to grant gold a VAT-free status. She explained the dynamics of VAT as it concerns gold.

“Gold should be VAT-free because it’s a financial instrument. However, even if there will be VAT on gold, it should not be too high so as to encourage export. We need the government to review VAT status on gold bars and coins,” Nere says.

According to her, the Nigerian government is working with the United Nations Industrial Development Orgasnisation (UNIDO) and other bodies to decide an efficient policy on gold products and alloys.

Kian Smith is also working on seeing import duties on gold and gold doré reduced.

Sustainability

Nere says Kian Smith is committed to maintaining high standards, from purity of gold to sustainability in production. The company’s refinery in Ogun State has the capacity to produce 3 tonnes of gold and 1 tonne of silver per month, both at a purity of 99.99 percent.

UNIDO will help Kian Smith in sustainable mining, supporting ASMs that want to supply Kian Smith and are committed to sustainable mining. Kian Smith is also working with international development organization Pact, to ensure due diligence and safety of miners, as well as curb illegal mining.

Once Kian Smith produces its ethical gold, it will be looking towards central banks, jewelers in the Middle East, Turkey, Switzerland and several parts of Africa.

Already, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has committed to buying gold from Kian Smith as it stocks up the country’s gold reserves.

“CBN has not said volume, but they are ready to buy gold in either naira or USD. We are hopeful that by the end of second quarter, their terms and conditions will be clear,” Nere says.

Kian Smith is also in talks with other central banks. The company has also met with the London Bullion Metal Association (LBMA), Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC) and World Gold COuncil (WGC) towards international certification process for Nigeria’s gold.

The Call

When TheNerve Africa first spoke with Nere in October, she was facing some challenges at her refinery site in Ogun, but she told TheNerve Africa that none of the things happening then would affect plans for the Kian Smith refinery to start working in 2019. “I’ve been here before,” Nere said, exuding the same confidence that has made her successful in a tough industry. The confidence, she says, stems from knowing that mining is her calling.

“Mining called me,” Nere declares. “It didn’t make sense when it was calling me because I was like ‘what is it about mining? This is a capital-intensive sector and am I sure this is the right sector to be calling me?’

“I wanted to meet people, so I met people in the sector and got their opinion: what do you think? Why are you in it?”

She continues: “It was interesting because they all talked about how horrible the experience is and I am like, but you are still there.

“I did some research, connected with some people in the sector here and they did their best to discourage me from getting into the sector but I still went in and I haven’t looked back.

“So I will say there is a mining bug; if it bites you, if it’s meant to be, no matter how hard it is, you will stick to it but if it is not meant to be, you will run.

“The people I talked to were all saying do not do it, it is challenging, it is rewarding, it’s amazing, but do not do it. So, I had to figure out the way to enter, because it is capital intensive and I didn’t have that kind of funds. So I entered by trading. Almost the same principles you use to trade anything else like land, supplies, and all of that. So that was how I entered. I entered by trading.”

The Kian Smith boss was in South Africa for a mining conference. There she met someone who wanted to bring his company to Nigeria. “I said I can do it for you, and that was how I did it. That was how I started trading.”

Nere says business has been good for Kian Smith despite the tough operating environment. “It is a difficult sector,” she reiterates. “It has its ups and downs. It has been challenging and there have been issues all around, but overall, if I look back, we have seen a steady progression. We see opportunities, we see challenges but we still said this is the sector we want to be in.”

Speaking on how hard Kian Smith had worked to get to its current level, Nere recalls her three months in Abuja for the ERGP focus labs. The Lab process is one of the several initiatives by the Nigerian government to fast-track the attainment of its ERGP objectives. The government had invited potential and existing investors, both foreign and Nigerian, who may be interested in investing in any of the three areas of focus — Agriculture and transportation, Power and gas, Manufacturing and processing (including solid minerals) — to attend closed-door sessions where prospective investors will have access in one location, to all the officials of government whose support, or approvals, they might need to enable them commit to an investment decision.

“I think after the first few days, we lost half the people because we spent several months in Abuja and you footed your own bills; the cost of your hotel, the cost of everything; this is not a government sponsored thing,” Nere explains. “For a lot of business people … like for me, I’m still recovering from putting a lot of things about the business on standstill for about 3 months.”

Nere says business owners had to ask themselves pertinent questions such as the wisdom in leaving their businesses for about 3 months at their own expense, “and at the end of the day you’re not even guaranteed that the government will even proffer a solution for you”.

She thinks Kian Smith was fortunate to be part of the focus labs and have its proposal accepted. “We were at a standstill for a major project. We were fortunate enough that we could take on that expense. It was huge because a lot of businesses that have a lot of better ideas and bigger problems did not have the opportunity to foot the expenses for three months in Abuja.”

The gold refining licence in hand, Nere has crossed another big hurdle as Kian Smith continues its growth, but again, she recalls one of the tough periods in the business’s growth and sighed.

“I have suffered,” she says. “But if you wait long enough … if you are patient long enough, things always work out fine.”

Sadly, “our generation has lost perseverance,” says Nere, who would love an opportunity to one day “genuinely talk to young people”.

“Our generation is a microwave generation,” Nere adds, stressing that social media has made success look easy so much that “young people are looking for shortcuts”.

Nere says she learnt doggedness from her father, the former Olu of Warri, who due to his Christian faith attempted to denounce a 500-year-old title Ogiame, which he said, was associated with a sea goddess. Kian Smith started before Ogiame Atuwatse II died in 2015, but Nere says she has never had a free pass using her father’s name or influence. She admits that her background played a huge role on the woman she has become but at the risk of sounding overly spiritual; Nere says her business achievements are so massive they couldn’t have been due to her background. She says they are supernatural.

“This is for the future of Nigeria; this is going to change Nigeria. It’s going to change Africa’s history. Africa will never remain the same again.”

Wailers would be wondering how to blame Buhari for this one..

SPECIAL REPORT: How Buhari’s N-Power programme is transforming lives, improving education


Abdulkareem Haruna


In April, the couple welcomed their first child. The Somades said they owe a portion of their gratitude to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, for creating the environment that improved their lives and enabled them start their new family.

Both graduates of Computer Science, their relationship dated back to their days at Adekunle Ajasin University.

Without jobs, marriage was not top on the list for the young couple. Mr Adeniyi narrated how they felt frustrated by the Nigerian system.

“Rough and uneasy are the mildest adjectives to describe our terrible situation at that time,” said ‘Niyi, as he is called.

“After graduation and my National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in 2012, I applied for all kinds of jobs and attended numerous interviews. But I was not lucky.”

Gbemisola finished her youth service a year after Niyi’s, and joined him in the labour market.

“We tried all kinds of petty trade, including selling kerosene,” he said.

Fate eventually smiled on the couple when the federal government introduced the Social Investment Programme which targets half a million youth in the country.

‘Niyi and Gbemisola were in the first set to apply for the N-Power component of the SIP.



“We were sceptical initially because we had Sure-P in the past,” said ‘Niyi. “My wife and I applied, but the programme turned out to give so much money to only an insignificant number of people. We did not get anything.

“Having concluded all the registration as well as the online and physical verification as applicants for the N-Power programme, it was like a joke when we suddenly received our first alert in December 2016,” he recalled.

“We could not believe our eyes even though the N30,000 alert was clearly showing on our phones,” he said.

With the constant N-Power stipend in the past over 15 months, the couple was not only able to save money to set up a little business, they also tied the nuptial knots.

“The steady income from N-Power emboldened us to take the step towards getting married and starting a new life.

The Somades had their beautiful daughter, Oluwafikunayomi (God had has filled up my joy), this April.

“Today, my wife and I no longer worry about what we eat, where we sleep or what to feed our baby with because we have a steady source of income,” Niyi said.

PREMIUM TIMES, in collaboration with Buharimeter (a platform tracking the implementation of programmes and projects of the Buhari administration) recently assessed how the N-Power programme has fared in three selected states; Ekiti, Kano and Niger states.

The assessment reveals that the Somades are not the only ones celebrating the federal government’s SIP. Thousands of Nigerians youth teaching in various schools across the country under the N-Teach sub-component of N-Power are in the same mood. However, there is apprehension among beneficiaries: what next after N-Power?

THE N-POWER



The SIP, which was part of the campaign promises of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), has four components. These are the Home Grown School Feeding Programme for public primary schools; the Conditional Cash Transfer to less-privileged; N-Power for unemployed graduates; and the Government Enterprises Entrepreneurship Programme (GEEP) to encourage market women, artisans, traders, and others.


Under the N-Power which is the flagship component of the SIP, unemployed graduates of tertiary institutions are engaged in critical sectors like education, agriculture and health.

The SIP headquarters under the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said over one million Nigerians applied. But after a clean-up of the application portal, about 701, 000 were enlisted. About 200,000 graduates of tertiary institutions were eventually picked for the first phase. Those selected will receive stipends for two years under the N-Teach, N-Agro or N-Health sub-components.

Of all the SIP components and sub-components, the N-Teach is the most popular, due to the large number of youth deployed to teach in public schools.

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) criticised the programme. In 2017, the union said the government was trying to kill quality education by deploying unqualified teachers to public schools.

However, PREMIUM TIMES’ checks in the three selected states reveal gross shortage of teachers in public schools; and N-Teach is filling the gaps in most of the schools.

According to James Atoke, the Vice Principal of Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, a precolonial secondary school credited with educating most of the elite of Ekiti, including the current state governor, Ayo Fayose, N-Power teachers have not only proven themselves as good teachers, but have also become indispensable asset.

Mr. James Atoke, Vice Principal Chris School, Ado-Ekiti.
The 34 years veteran teacher revealed that the N-power teachers even take up management roles in schools in remote communities due to the dearth of qualified or inadequate manpower within the education sector of the state.

Clearly, Mr. Atoke is not on the same page with the NUT.

“If not all of them, a majority of the N-Power teachers have mastery of the subject matter. They have not been found wanting also in the theoretical aspect of teaching. Especially the way they make use of teaching aid in classes; and that is actually very impressive.

“There is one of them who is a Physics teacher now, we have to keep deploying from one class to the other just because we don’t have adequate teachers to cover those classes.



“The one that is taking Christian Religious Knowledge is a born teacher, who is very efficient and very punctual in her classes.”

(Christ School Ado-Ekiti where N-Power teachers are mostly in charge of science subjects
“We want more deployment of N-Power teachers in our schools and if possible we look forward to government making at least five of them permanent for us in this school. Because if they should leave, we will fall back to a situation where we would be lacking teachers”, said the vice principal.

“Let me confirm to you that in some of the villages in Ekiti, it is these N-power teachers that some schools are relying on as managers of the school because there are no capable hands!

“Most of them are now functioning as vice principals and HODs in their respective schools.”

LIKE KANO, LIKE EKITI

School administrators in Kano State also expressed the same view on the services being provided by the N-Power teachers.

Haliru Inuwa, the Principal of Government Secondary School, Daurawa said the eight N-Power teachers deployed to his school since December 2016 have been the saving grace for him and his students.

“We have eight beneficiaries of N-Power posted to my school here,” he said.

“Most of them are handling core science subjects which most of the schools in Kano state are lacking generally. Yes, subjects like Mathematics, English etc.,” said the principal.

“To our surprise, and against the earlier concern raised that they might not perform well in teaching, the N-Power volunteer teachers are not only committed to their teaching, but are also punctual.”

He said N-Power teachers who constitute 26 per cent of his staffers make sacrifices to teach in both morning and afternoon sessions of his school. He said all the eight teachers deployed to his school had confirmed their proficiency in teaching.

“I have 22 teachers in this school and it is the deployment of the N-power teachers that increased the number to 30 teachers, which is even very inadequate.”

At the Maryam Alloma Mukhtar Government Girls Secondary School (MAMGGSS), Kano, the management said they had nothing other than appreciation to the N-power teachers.

“We are immensely happy with the N-Power programme because the volunteers have been contributing their quota towards the education of our students here in MAMGGSS, Kano,” said Mustafa Adam, a senior teacher.

“The NUT concern that these N-Power volunteers are not qualified teachers may be genuine but overtime now, they have come to prove us wrong in that regard. If you go to the classes, unless you are told you will not be able to differentiate between a mainstream teacher and an N-power volunteer.

“We have serious problem of manpower in our schools, especially in core subjects; so should this set of N-Power beneficiaries leave, we will definitely have serious challenges, because we don’t have replacements”, said Halima Garba, the vice principal.

Some heads of schools in Kano who did not get posting of N-Power teachers want the programme to consider their schools in the next round.

“We also want N-power teachers here and we need them badly”, said a senior teacher at Government Girls Secondary school, Tarauni, whose school has only 22 teachers for 1,058 students.


“There should be a proper mechanism for checkmating the N-Teachers. Some of them still default classes or they do come late to classes simply because no one can sanction them from here. The N-Power office needs to give us the power of clearance before they pay them their allowances. By so doing, we can instill the culture of discipline in them.”

Miss Ajayi Fayokemi, N-power beneficiary from Ekiti
Ajayi Fayokemi, a 26-year-old graduate of Computer Science from Adekunle Ajasin University, teaches Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the junior classes of Christ School Ado – Ekiti.

She told PREMIUM TIMES how the programme has been assisting her to fund her Masters degree programme, and also gave her financial independence from her aged parents.

“I was not under any form of employment after I graduated”, she said.

“So I often sought the assistance of my parents for my personal needs and especially for funds to pursue my Masters programme. Paying my fees was a major burden on the shoulders of my parents.

“But having joined the N-Power programme, things became easy for me especially in the area of financing my Masters programme. And now my parents do not have to worry about my basic needs any more. N-Power monthly stipends has been a huge support for me.

“N-Power has turned around the lives of thousands of youth in this country and my advice is that it should not just stop here. Stopping it might not only mean depriving the people engaged in the scheme means of sustenance, but it also means taking the services they are providing away.

Same goes for Muhammed Ndaliman, a 32 years old graduate of Biology in Niger State, who said he was jobless until N-Power in 2016.

“As a family man, I revolve most of my activities, financially around that N30,000 stipend we collect monthly.

“A lot of people in the N-power programme rely on the stipend to take care of themselves and families, for which they are very grateful to the federal government. But it is not all of us that may be able to make savings or even invest on anything due to the pressure of demands.

“That is why we are calling on the federal government to consider absorbing us into the federal civil service so that we can continue to render our services to the nation.”

Olalekan Femi who teaches Mathematics and Physics in Christ School Ado-Ekiti, said he was unemployed after he graduated in 2010. N-power gave him his first job.

“Things were rough and life was practically difficult for me as a young graduate. But that is in the past now. With the N30,000 stipend I get monthly, I have been able to save some money to start up some petty business which is equally helping me to take care of myself and aged parents.

“Our fear is what happens at the end of the programme.”

Olanrewaju Ojorewa, who teaches Government also in Christ School Ado-Ekiti, said the scheme should go around to schools to find out their areas of need so that appropriate deployment can be made based on the gap analysis made”.

Oluwayemi Emmanuel, another teacher at Christ School Ado-Ekiti said, “So far so good, my life has been improved, and I am happy. We give kudos to Mr. President.”

Yahaya Ahmed Magaji, a 28-year old graduate of Mathematics from Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST) Wudil, now teaches Mathematics in Maryam Alloma Mukhtar Government Secondary School, Kano. He said with N-power earnings he was able to set up a poultry of 300 birds.

Yahaya Magaji, an N-Power teacher in Kano
Just like Magaji, Hassan Abdulkadir, a 26-year old graduate of Statistics from KUST, Wudil, Kano State also teaches in Maryam Alloma Mukhtar Government Secondary School, Kano. He said they volunteers were “seriously concerned” about government laying them off at the end of this year.

“We plead with the state and the federal governments to consider engaging the N-power beneficiaries permanently especially as we are all offering services in areas where there are gaps in the public schools.”

It was the same concern for 26 years old Musa Dahiru Musa, a graduate of Geography from Bayero University Kano; and Sunusi A. Sunusi, a 32-year old NCE holder in Social Studies.

“I was lucky to join N-Power in 2016 and for the first time I became a salary earner”, said Mr Dahiru.

“While my tailoring business still continues, I use part of what I save from my monthly stipends to set up a poultry business and even got one person working for me, while some part of the money I earn monthly also goes to payment of my younger sisters’ school fees.”

Sagir Adamu, 31, holds an NCE in English-Hausa. The N-power volunteer teacher at the Government Secondary School, Daurawa, Kano, wants two things from the federal government.

“When we are through with this programme, the federal government must not lay us off like that. It is either they retain us as permanent employees or they should give us some capital to start up some kind of business on our own.”

In response to the beneficiaries requests, officials gave no indication they would be permanently employed.

The Ekiti State Director of NOA, Mr Famosaya, said though it will be a good idea for government to absorb all beneficiaries, doing so might not be easy.

Mr Famosaya, NOA Director Ekiti state
“When we say something is a scheme, it means it has expiration period. The scheme is meant for two years for which the government actually planned. Then if after two years they say government should just absorb them in their respective places of assignment, we need to consider the financial implication of that on the economy.”

However, the Niger State Director-General of N-Power, Muhammed Usman, said there is a possibility of government arranging an exit package for those concluding their time under the programme.

“The issue of sustenance is one of the areas we have looked into with serious concern,” he said.

N-POWER IMPROVED STATES’ ECONOMIES

The Director-General of N-power in Niger State, Muhammed Usman, said aside the social engagement of youth, the APC government of President Buhari has also used its SIP to boost the economy of states across Nigeria.

Mr. Muhammed Saba Usman, DG N-power, Niger state
He said about 5,110 youth were engaged in Niger State and posted across the state.

“And for 24 months these people are going to be paid N30,000 each, which means about N3.7 billion injected into the Niger state economy”, he said.

He said with another batch of 8,000 persons expected to be engaged, “Niger state stands to have a total of N5.7 billion injected into its economy by the Buhari administration.

On the concerns that some of the N-Power beneficiaries do not attend classes to teach, the Niger state focal person said a monitoring committee had been set up to check defaulters.

“We have set up a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) team which comprised people that will from time to time go round schools, hospitals and agricultural project sites where the beneficiaries are posted and monitor those posted in those areas,” he said.

EKITI SUPPORT

Although the Ekiti State Governor, Mr Fayose, is an unrepentant critic of the Buhari administration, recent findings by PREMIUM TIMES suggest N-Power is one programme his government supported

The Ekiti State director of NOA, Dayo Famosaya, said despite the difference in political differences, the SIP programme especially the N-power scheme was well received by the state government.

“The programme has been very successful in Ekiti State”, he said.

“Many of the beneficiaries never believed in the programme until they started to see alerts. That actually made it a huge success because most of the beneficiaries said they now believe in President Buhari’s commitment to reducing unemployment.

“What we are looking towards now is the second phase of the programme which was supposed to kick-start in December 2017.

“The first phase in Ekiti, we had about 3,200 beneficiaries. So if you are taking that figure of young graduates out of the job market, you can imagine what it means for the society. In the next phase, we have about 8000 candidates to be enrolled into the programme.

“Governor Fayose has really cooperated with NOA to ensure that as many as possible youth participated in the exercise.”

NUT’S STANCE

In Kano State, the NUT still seemed not sold on the programme, despite the fact that it has been salvaging the public schools of its inherent manpower challenges.

When the state chairman of NUT, Hambali Muhammed, was contacted by our reporter for an interview, he was brief and dismissive in his response.

“We don’t know anything about N-power in Kano because the government did not carry us along when they were recruiting the beneficiaries they sent to schools,” he said.

“Besides, the N-Power teachers are not members of the NUT so, we are not in the position of assessing them. So we stand by the earlier position held by of our National headquarters on this matter. Thank you.”

In Niger State, the NUT also holds some grudges about how the teaching programme was being carried out.

“We just woke up one morning only to see that government had deployed teachers under this N-Power programme into our schools, regardless the advice and warning we earlier gave.

“N-Power teachers are not our responsibility because they are not registered members of the union. I think the SUBEB or the Ministry of Education should be the ones assessing them, not NUT. Any attempt to give response as to whether they are doing well or not, we will not be seen to be doing justice to the issue because we have never assessed them in the classrooms.

“Until they are subscribed to us as a union, that is if government eventually gave them full employment, then we cannot accord them recognition”.

He said it was to avoid turning the teaching profession into a “dumping ground” that the NUT prevailed on the government to revive the Teachers Registration Council so that “any one going into the classes to teach in Nigeria must meet all the requirements of a teacher to be allowed to do so”.

However, the NUT official agreed that just like in states like Kano and Ekiti, there is gross inadequacy of teachers in Niger. He blamed the situation on teachers retiring with “government not making any provision for replacement.”

This article is a product of a partnership between PREMIUM TIMES and #Buharimeter to fact-check the viability or otherwise of the federal
government’s N-Power Programme. #Buharimeter is an initiative of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the Department for International Department (DFID).

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/273735-special-report-how-buharis-n-power-programme-is-transforming-lives-improving-education.html

Slaves everywhere

Sai Buhari!
Sai Baba!!

Felixv:
Did someone say scanty

PDP.igs are already pooing in their pants.

[quote author=deomelllo post=74225803][/quote]Buhari / Osinbajo carry go.
Seriously, those who wail, wails in vain.

Top 3 Most Significant Convictions Secured By EFCC In 2018

Channels Television

Updated December 27, 2018


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC said it secured a total of 312 convictions between January and December 24, 2018.

According to the anti-corruption agency, the record of convictions was a significant improvement from the 189 convictions recorded in 2017.

There were some high profile convictions recorded by the EFCC in 2018, the anti-graft body listed three of the biggest and here they are below.

Jolly Nyame
A former governor of Taraba State currently serving a 12-year jail term at the Kuje Prison, with a fine of N495 million.

Joshua Dariye
A serving Senator and a former governor of Plateau state who is also serving jail terms at Kuje Prison.

Joseph Nwobike
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria who has been stripped of the highly revered legal title. He was convicted for perverting the course of justice.

Dariye and Nyame, who were sentenced to 14 years in prison had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the “guilty” verdict handed down on them by a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Gudu presided over by Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

However, while upholding their convictions, the Appellate Court commuted Dariye’s jail term to 10 years, and that of Nyame to 12 years.

With the convictions, the EFCC, led by Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman, has remained consistent in its concerted efforts aimed at ensuring that the negative narrative of pervasive corruption in the system is changed for the better, and the perception that some persons are above the Law is altered.

The record of convictions cuts across the various offices of the EFCC with Lagos securing 85 convictions, Abuja with 53, followed by Kano with 36. Port Harcourt secured 33 convictions, Gombe recorded 28; Benin had 27; Enugu, 15; Maiduguri, 11; Ibadan, 10; Uyo, 8, and Kaduna, 6.


https://www.channelstv.com/2018/12/27/top-3-most-significant-convictions-secured-by-efcc-in-2018/

End time mum / future mother in-law

I am happy there was no fuel scarcity this year – fun seeker

DECEMBER 26, 2018

Gwagwalada (FCT) – Some owners of relaxation spots and gardens in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday, expressed delight as they recorded high patronage during the Christmas celebration. Fun-seekers reveling at the Elegushi, VI, Lagos. Photos: Akeem Salau The business owners, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said in spite of the economic hardship, the level of patronage was encouraging.

They wished the celebration would continue, adding that sits-outs and other forms of entertainment should be more often and not only during festive periods.


Mrs Talatu Wada, owner of ‘Last Bus Stop’, a relaxation spot in Gwagwalada, said for the past three days, she had made over N200, 000 as profit on sales of beer and pepper soup during the celebration. ‘‘It has been a difficult year, but people left their worries behind to come out and take beer to cool temper. ‘‘Despite the hardship, I have made over N200, 000 on sales of beer in the last three days than last year Christmas celebration. ‘‘Christmas season is a period we should celebrate as well as to show love and be happy; I wish the celebration will not stop,’’ she said.

Another owner of ‘ULTIMATE’ relaxation spot in Kwali, Mr Emeka Igwe, described how hectic it had been in the past two days, as all his sales representatives had travelled for the Christmas. Besides, he disclosed that despite been alone he had made more sales in the 2018’s Christmas celebration than in the previous year.

The situation was not different at ‘MAMA TEE’ relaxation spot, in Kuje Area Council, as the joint was populated with fun seekers drinking beer and watching football with loved ones. One of the fun seekers, Abraham Gado, said Christmas Day was the period of happiness and it should be celebrated well as a season of love. Gado said, “It was a difficult year, full of expectations, which has not been achieved but thank God for all His mercies. “I just came here to take some beer and be happy with my friends as we celebrate the Christmas. ‘‘I am happy there was no fuel scarcity this year, which means the government is working.’’ (NAN)

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/i-am-happy-there-was-no-fuel-scarcity-this-year-fun-seeker/

bigfish3k:
we are irrelevant but we helped OBJ, yar ardua and GEJ to win. if u are a critical thinker u will know that yorubas can never win the presidency without the igbos and vice versa.
but the hausas can do it , they just need one of the appendages of either yoruba or igbo to win

igbos didnt contest in 1999 because they left the slot for the yorubas. we need a reciprocal or the south will suffer it. u people are just short term thinkers

You are not a good student of history. Alex Ekwueme contested the Presidency with OBJ during the PDP primaries. Go and fact check that. Also, among the three major ethnic tribes in Nigeria, once two of them combined, they will produce the President and this has been proven times without number. In 1993 Tofa won the major votes in SE while MKO won in Kano state, the home state of Tofa. Facts on ground does not support your emotions and you cant win the Presidency through emotional blackmail.

Billionaire09:
Out dated tale.

You wish. Do you think an Igbo man can win an election in SW or the North? I think that is what you should pre occupy yourself with. If you reach out and stop your self defeatist approcah, an Igbo Presidency is possible. It may not be in 2023, but it is achievable. As you lay your bed, so you lie on it.

KillTheZombies:
Oga Ade, you never answer the question, show us evidence of 'political love' you spread to Ibos while you were taunting them with the presidency even after they voted a yoruba man to power.

Stop yelling and tell us.

When an Igbo man emerge as APC presidential candidate through the primaries, the Yorubas will support that candidate at general election. APC is our party. Nobody is stopping an Igbo man from contesting

danot1030:
I love some the statements he made that the VP call to Yorubas is constitutional... “A wake-up call to Ndigbo in the true sense of the word that equity, natural justice and good conscience are the advantages on our side.

In a sense you can not go on hating on Buhari and expect him to abandoned those supporting him for eight years and support you, all you could end up doing is wailing and lamenting as usual.

Igbos wants to be President through emotional blackmail. They are used to wailing sha.

baliyubla:
The easiest route for the Igbos to the Presidency is through Atiku.

One of the Condition Thiefnibu requested from the dullard to support his 2019 ambitions was to hand over APCs party structure to him.

That's why it was easy for the drug baron to handpick his stooge Oshio as party chair, and mess anyone up perceived to be a stumbling block to his 2023 ambitions. (Amosun and Okorocha) to mention a few.

Those shouting Osinbajo 2023, know the man is a weakling, and in that time will step down for his godfather to be the Presidential candidate.

But then there's BRF who's the dullards preferred along with the Northern oligarchs.

Igbo's stand no chance in APC, as the supporters of APC idea is to rotate power between the Yoruba Muslim and their Alimis up North

Nigerians must shine their eyes and rejects these divisive elements in Government.

We Northern minorities have their evil blueprints, the Igbos and Yoruba Christians, must not fall for their tricks.

It is good you have decided to stick with PDP. What problem do you have with South West decision to stick with APC?

Melison:
Words that's all u guys are good at,face it can a balarabe count on northerners for votes??
Will northerners cos of party vote a Yoruba man over their very own?? Think man, use ur head

MKO defeated Tofa in his home state , Kano state. Dont worry about SW. We are politicall matured to handle any of the outcomes.

In PDP, lying comes naturally to them
Party of liars.
There is this saying that: Whoever tells lies, must surely steal
PDP Party of looters.

Chairman Him Tu Lie

PythonAmaka:
If PDP were a fair party, they would have relocated their Secretariat to that airport terminal. When APC completes the renovation, they will say APC claims their achievement


python amaka

Honestly, PDP is a shameless party. They left abandoned project all over the place after they have looted the funds.
Projects that has been under construction for 30, 40 years are now being completed and instead of hiding their face in shame, they come out to vomit rubbish.

Reno Omockery is a shameless, hopeless liar

PythonAmaka:
Yet Nigeria airport was ranked the worst in the world under her supervision. The monies that was approved for renovation was siphoned and laundered into her maid's account with Gej giving her a kiss on the cheek. Whenever they are confronted with their record of failures, they rush to the media to wipe up sentiments.. If she couldn't manage her marriage, how could she have managed a ministry.


Python amaka

Yes we will never forget PDP years of the locust.

Here is Portharcourt Airport under PDP, rated the worst in the world.

After 6 Years in Office President GEJ only has a drawing of 2nd Niger Bridge to show as his achievement

Nigeria completes Itakpe-Warri rail line after 34 years


Published on 19.11.2018


The Itakpe-Warri rail line has been completed after 34 years, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said.Amaechi explained that the rail line, which was abandoned would have been the first standard guage line in Africa if it was completed.

He said on Sunday in Abuja that, “based on the president’s instruction, I did a memo; I thought we will borrow money from China; but the president refused. He said we should use our internal funds to execute the project.

“People saw me on social media on train service from Warri to Itakpe. I got to Warri 8pm because I was going from one station to the other,” he said.

The minister, who made a presentation titled `What We are Building ‘ said that President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption of office, directed that old and abandoned projects should be completed.

“The truth is that the country is compelled to make a choice between good and bad. When I was appointed the Minister for Transportation, the president warned–do not start new contracts, go and complete old ones.

He said that the tradition in the past was that once one was elected, one left the old things for the old people and awarded new contracts.

According to Amaechi, the ministry will start commercial service from Itakpe to Warri.

“We completed it but two things are remarkable—we borrowed 500 million dollars to start that project at the time oil was selling at 114 dollars per barrel. We should not have borrowed; you mean this country could not have afforded 500 million dollars?


“I wrote a memo to the president and to the cabinet requesting that he should allow me borrow 500 million dollars from China to buy locomotives and coaches for Lagos-Ibadan, the cabinet under the directive of the president refused.

“He (the president) said 500 million dollars; we can get from here and we are funding it from here; so we did and completed Kaduna to Abuja quickly.”

According to him, another project, Lagos to Ibadan railway, is almost complete—a distance of 156km.

The minister said that application had also been made to construct Kano to Kaduna railway as approval for funds is being awaited.

“We are about to award the central line from Abuja to Niger to Baru from Baru to Itakpe to Warri; the president had approved a new seaport in Warri. We are negotiating with a Chinese company which will build it.

“Do not forget that 2.7 billion dollars is N1 trillion. So, we are looking for money to commence already awarded work on the coastal rail.

“The coastal rail starts from Lagos, it passes through Ogun State, Ondo, Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha. From Benin again, it passes through Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, to Bayelsa, in fact, it goes to Utuoke. From Otuoke, it goes to Port Harcourt,” he said.

https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/nigeria-completes-itakpe-warri-rail-line-after-34-years/

Left to PDP, these projects will never be completed..

Zik’s mausoleum set for commissioning 22 years after

By Praise Necherem
The Muhammadu Bu­hari-led administration has recorded another giant landmark following the com­pletion of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum. The project initi­ated by the federal government twenty-two years ago, was awarded by the late Sani Abacha regime shortly after the death of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Owelle of Onitsha and the first president of Nigeria.

The project, as it were, was targeted at honouring the first Premier of Eastern Nigeria and founder of the University of Nige­ria, Nsukka (UNN), in recogni­tion of his immense contributions to national development and the country’s independence.

Located at the heart of Onitsha, commercial city of Anambra state, the mausoleum, regrettably, had suffered series of neglect and abandonment by previous administrations. It also underwent various reviews of the contract sum until it was taken over by the Buhari‘s administra­tion to see to its completion.

Minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, had during his visit to the state in May, told the contractor to en­sure the completion of the project before the end of October.
Fashola had expressed dissat­isfaction over the slow pace of work and threatened to revoke the contract, if the contractor failed to deliver on schedule.

The chairman, Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council and Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnae­meka Achebe, had, during the minister’s visit, described as an embarrassment, the delay in the completion of the project after decades. He called for the speedy completion of the mausoleum.
The project, however, finally came to completion, 22 years after its initial commencement and is ready for commissioning soonest.

Bouygues Construction Nige­ria Limited (BNL) the firm han­dling the project, assured that work has been completed on the project and ready for handover.

Speaking to Orient Daily, the project manager of the firm, John Ameh, said the project was actually completed towards the end of September. “We met the minister’s deadline of October ending, but because the client has not taken over, we cannot just lock up the place and leave for security reasons. We wrote on October 11, notifying them to come and take over the proj­ect.
They are likely to visit this week,” he said.

Ameh described the mauso­leum as a “land mark project’’ for the people of South-East and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him, “it is a project that has spanned so many administra­tions before it was awarded to BNL in 2014 while work started in 2015.

“This administration was courageous enough to take it to completion and should be com­mended.”
Also speaking, the site engi­neer Mr. Paul Odigie, said the mausoleum is made up of the main building, administrative block and a residential house.

“We took over this project in 2013 as the last contractor. We were neither the first or the second. I believe the work started twenty years ago.
“Actually, we’re through with the project. We’re just waiting for the commissioning which will take place any moment from now,” he said.

The building is uniquely posi­tioned to serve as a tourist site as the structure has a central tower. There is jubilation and excitement among residents and visitors alike to the commercial city of the state as the mausole­um is now wearing a new look with assorted paintings and art works waiting its formal commis­sioning.

https://orientdailynews.com.ng/cityscope/ziks-mausoleum-commissioning-years/

.

PDP is utterly useless.

.

Cinacci124:
"We have achieved more with less resources," the new APC mantra.......

Yes o. Doing more with less revenue

horlique:
If we have leaders telling such lies n followers believing such lies then we are doomed.. which state in Nigeria is currently enjoying 24hrs light can he mention just one state..

Maiduguri residents protest against uninterrupted electricity supply
Published December 22, 2018


Residents of Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, said that their 24-hour-electricity supply be cut short immediately.

According to them, the constant power supply has caused a huge increase in charges. They are demanding that the Yola Electricity Distribution Company reduce their electricity supply to the 12-hour daily that used to be the case.

Most residents of the state capital stormed the YEDC office on Wednesday to demand a reduction in electricity.


Reacting to the complaints by the residents, the YEDC Maiduguri Business Manager said, “These complaints may be as a result of the inauguration of the 330kV transmission line which now supplies electricity 24 hours.

“On average, we now supply electricity in the town for a minimum of 22 hours in a day, which simply implies that the consumption of energy by residents in the state have multiplied or even tripled itself.”

Despite the explanation by the official, the residents are still not happy with the situation, demanding less electricity supply.

https://punchng.com/maiduguri-residents-protest-against-uninterrupted-electricity-supply/

It’s ‘Unarguable’ We Have Improved Power Supply ‘With Less Resources’, Says Fashola

Channels Television
Updated December 23, 2018


The Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the Muhammadu Buhari administration has improved power supply in the last three years.

He told Channels Television on Sunday that although the government has yet to completely fulfil the promise made in 2015, even those criticising the present administration would not argue the improvement in the power sector.

“We set very high aspirations and we will get there, and what I am saying today is that we have improved on what we met, and that is unarguable and unimpeachable,” Fashola said during his appearance on Sunday Politics.

He added, “And we have done so in shorter time and with less resources. Let their (the critics) sympathisers continue to weaponise the challenges they created but the truth is that we are the ones solving the problems that we met.

“That’s why we sought the office because we think we are better than them and we have proven that we are.”



It's 'Unarguable' We Have Improved Power 'With Less Resources', Says Fashola
Mr Babatunde Fashola speaks during an interview on Sunday Politics on December 23, 2018.
The minister explained that there was a need to invest in power, whether on the part of the government or the private sector or from both sides if the sector must develop.

According to him, it is important for the people to compare where they are to where they are coming from, and the promises made by the present administration.

Fashola revealed that upon his assumption of duty in 2015, he set out a clear agenda for the ministry that it would first seek to achieve incremental power, saying it was already yielding results.

“We are producing more power than what we met; we are transmitting more power than what we met, and we are distributing more power than what we met,” he said.

He added, “I met 4,000MW; we have added three (thousand) more – 1,000MW per year. Our raw rate is a thousand megawatts (MW) every year.



“Since I came, we have completed projects they didn’t complete, we have evacuated 800 containers they left at the port; that’s mediocre administration… they didn’t administer a government.”

The minister, however, admitted that the numbers were not as important as the experience of Nigerians who were the consumers.

He noted that the government has not gotten to its destination yet, but the people can attest that power supply has improved in the last three years.

“Nigerians will tell you, on the average, that they are spending less money on buying diesel, they are spending less money on buying petrol for their generators.”







While the people still spend money on fuel in the case of a power outage, Fashola insisted that the case was not the same compared to the previous administration.

He stressed states like Kebbi were getting about 24 hours of power supply because there was a local arrangement in place to ensure people pay for the electricity consumed.

The minister added that he got a report from some residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital recently that the government should reduce the “24-hour” power supply in their area because they cannot afford to pay for it.

On power supply off the national grid, he said, ”We have been innovative, we are targeting market, we are targeting universities, we are promoting individuals and businesses to get their own energy under the existing regulations that we have championed.”

“So, we have a mini-grid policy … and I see a very clear path to solving this problem. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t remain.”


https://www.channelstv.com/2018/12/23/its-unarguable-we-have-improved-power-supply-with-less-resources-says-fashola/