₦airaland Forum

[size=14pt]Jonathan Orders Power Sector Reforms Fast-tracked[/size]

• PHCN’s power generation hits 3,760mw • UAE firm plans 230mw power station
From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, 06.07.2010

Ministry of Power yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan, has directed it  to commence full implementation of the  Power sector Reform  Act  in order to create room for private sector participation and efficient service delivery to Nigerians.
The president's charge came just as the average national power generation by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) hovered at 3,760 megawatts (Mw) with an off-peak of 3,250mw as at last Friday,

THISDAY checks gathered that Shell Afam is yet to come up fully, contributing 345mw against expected 650mw. Some units in Kainji and Shiroro hydro power stations are down thereby drawing down on available generation capacity.
Minister of State for Power, Nuhu Somo Wya in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Yakubu Lawal yesterday, said the President has given the ministry a fresh  mandate to fast-track the reform process and  break all barriers that would prevent private sector players coming to invest in the sector.

The statement quoted the minister as having said at the weekend while receiving a group of foreign investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  who made presentation on their planned participation in the sector,  said the mandate is to the effect that the Electric Power  Sector Reform (EPSR) Act of 2005 be fully implemented.  "President has given  mandate to commence the reform process and  break all barriers that would prevent private sector players coming to invest in the sector".

“I have clear  mandate of Mr. President   to break all bottlenecks  to private investor’s participation in the power sector .We are ready to encourage you and we will create the enabling environment for you to actively invest in the sector. Our doors are open to all genuine investors ”he said.
Wya explained that  that based on the President's directives, the Ministry will be commencing full reform of the sector in order to encourage the inflow of the much needed investment for the sector.


The partial implementation of this Act before now had  led to the establishment of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory  Commission (NERC) and unbundling of Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) into 18 successor companies as follows,Generation-6,Transmission-1 and Distribution-11 respectively

According to Wya, it has become obvious  that government alone cannot provide the required  investment that would drive the sector for the benefit of all Nigerians,  adding that  government is open to anybody who has the resources and ready to invest in the sector to come on board.
Wya explained that though most of the power stations in the country are thermal or gas  fired based,  Nigeria still needs more   thermal or gas powered plants  adding that  investors  could easily diversify into other alternative  power generation  opportunities that exist in the country.

The minister directed the officials of the visiting firm-Energy Trading Group FZC of UAE to meet with the relevant agencies within the Power sector for proper guidelines for investing in the sector urging them to also look at the model on  Power Purchase Agreement(PPA) developed by NERC with a view to help them design a  sound business plan that will conform with the practice in Nigeria.

He also asked them to meet with NERC officials with a  view to obtaining the guidelines for licensing companies that want to operate or do business in the sector noting that relevant committees within the Ministry  of Power  directly concern  with issues on Independent Power Projects (IPP) would  also be able to help them fast tract their investment plans in line with the existing guidelines.

The Director of Business Development of ETG, Mr.Mike McCafferty,  in his Presentation, said ETG Power is seeking to establish an Independent Power Project with a frame 9 Power plant in simple cycle operation as phase 1 of the project to be delivered within 12 months to commercial operations.

He explained that that  phase 2  of the project will incorporate combine cycle operation and  that the  commissioning of phase II  can be delivered within   twelve months after commercial operation of phase I, which he said could give 230Megawatts(MW) of electricity to Nigerians.
He said the company has over 33 years of working experience in both Power  as well as  oil and gas industry across major continent of the world.

[size=14pt]FG Earmarks N10bn for Second Niger Bridge[/size]

Federal Government has set aside the sum of N10 billion for the construction of the second Niger Bridge at Onitsha, Anambra State.
Minister of Works Senator Sanusi Daggash made this disclosure when the Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu paid an official visit to him in Abuja.

The minister said the amount has already been budgeted for the construction.
Daggash also said that he inherited between 22-30 challenging road contracts that were awarded between 1999-2000.
He explained that he has written to President Goodluck Jonathan to find out whether the contracts should be reviewed or revoked.
Ekweremadu expressed concern over the state of the old Niger Bridge and called on the FG to hasten the award of the contract for the construction of the second one.

The deputy senate president said that the life span of the existing bridge, which is over 45 years has made it imperative to construct “the much talked about second Niger Bridge to save the country from an imminent danger."
He observed that the bridge is very strategic as the major link connecting the South-east and other parts of the country. He added that the condition of the bridge has become a source of concern to many Nigerians.
Ekweremadu also expressed concern over the poor state of federal roads, noting that “the South-east has the worst federal roads in the country."

He stated that although contracts have been awarded for the rehabilitation of most of the roads, some of the projects have been abandoned while others are done at a very slow pace.
He pledged that the National Assembly would support any initiative from the ministry to ensure that roads are re-awarded or contractors are made to do the job according to acceptable standards.
“If we fix our road infrastructure, the rate of highway robbery and road accidents would be reduced. Nigerians are very mobile people; when you have bad roads, cars cannot last. Also bad roads encourages highway robbery and increases the rate of accident and death," he added.

Sanusi, who decried the retention of fuel subsidy despite the overwhelming evidence of its negative impacts on the economy, disclosed that the Federal Government had often times borrowed to pay subsidy debts to the “cabal” in the oil sector.
The CBN governor disclosed that the Federal Government spent over a trillion naira on subsidy last year while another N570 billion may be expended on the same this year.
“The money is going to a cabal. These are the same people that borrow from the banks and do not pay; they are the ones rigging elections and are aiding corruption. We have to cut them off,” he said.

[size=14pt]Sanusi Seeks Removal of Fuel Subsidy[/size]

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi yesterday urged the Federal Government to curb a major part of its wasteful expenditure pattern by removing the subsidy on petroleum products imported into the country.
Sanusi argued that the policy of subsidizing fuel importation has not been beneficial to the masses but has merely enriched a few privileged Nigerians.

His call for fuel subsidy removal came as the Minister of Finance Olusegun Aganga disclosed that Nigeria ’s external debt profile has risen to $4. 3billion and warned against unnecessary borrowing by governments at all levels.
The duo made their positions known in separate presentations at the National Workshop on the Processes and Procedures for Obtaining Local and Foreign Loans by Federal and State Governments.
The workshop was organised by the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Investigations into Foreign and Local Loans in collaboration with the CBN, Debt Management Office, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Sanusi, who decried the retention of fuel subsidy despite the overwhelming evidence of its negative impacts on the economy, disclosed that the Federal Government had often times borrowed to pay subsidy debts to the “cabal” in the oil sector.
The CBN governor disclosed that the Federal Government spent over a trillion naira on subsidy last year while another N570 billion may be expended on the same this year.
“The money is going to a cabal. These are the same people that borrow from the banks and do not pay; they are the ones rigging elections and are aiding corruption. We have to cut them off,” he said.

Besides the removal of subsidy, Sanusi said the Federal Government needed to plug the numerous loopholes in its revenue chain to avoid a situation where the country is forced into borrowing when it could have conveniently executed its programmes with better monitoring of its revenue collecting agencies such as the Nigeria Customs and Excise and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
He also advised government to keep a tab on its domestic debts, adding that it would not be enough monitoring only the foreign debt portfolio. According to him, increased domestic debt may also lead to serious economic problems as the government will then be borrowing every year to service these local debts.

The minister of finance, who gave an update on Nigeria debt profile, said at the end of 2006, the country’s debt burden was only $3.54 billion, a huge improvement from the $35.94 billion position before Nigeria exited from the Paris Club of Creditors in 2005.
However, by December 2007, it had risen to $3.67; by 2008, $3.72; in 2009, $3.62 and by March 2010, it has grown to $4.3 billion.
Similarly, the country’s domestic debt has risen to N2.4 trillion.
Aganga, who allayed the fears of stakeholders over recent borrowings, explained that the current external loan portfolio was mainly concessionary loans with long repayment periods.
He, however, warned that the country needed to set its priorities right to avoid returning to the pre-2005 days of huge debt burden.
In a keynote address delivered at the opening of the workshop, House Speaker Dimeji Bankole explained that the workshop was not designed to stop government from borrowing but to ensure that the country is sufficiently insulated from those ones that are unecessary.

“We are not on any mission to decree against borrowing whether foreign or domestic but we are persuaded that borrowing, where inevitable, should be functional, productive, backed by value and in optimal cases self liquidating,” he said.

[size=14pt]We Will Deliver NIPP on Schedule[/size]

FG: We Will Deliver NIPP on Schedule
From Ike Abonyi in Abuja, 06.08.2010

The Presidency has assured Nigerians that the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) which is critical to the generation of power would be delivered on schedule.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo who spoke on the issue yesterday said although there are other sources that would contribute to steady power supply, the government is determined to make the NIPP work.
He stated the government's mind in a chat with State House Correspondents in Abuja yesterday.
"We are not going to bandy figures at this level but what we are saying is that we will deliver NIPP on schedule as already agreed and which I am sure all of you know," the veepee said.

"We cannot also say if the contribution will be in percentage time because we know also that it is not only NIPP that is going to bring in power, there are also other sources which will bring in power but the NIPP will deliver power on its own part" he added.
Sambo who chaired his first meeting of the presidential committee on NIPP at the Presidential Villa on Monday, had earlier informed stakeholders that the administration would not relent on its determination to solve the country's power problem.
The "NIPP programme has a schedule that I am sure you are aware of, the projects are not coming all coming up at the same time. I think the programme has been issued earlier and what we are saying is that we are satisfied with the progress. We believe that the project will be deliver on schedule," said Sambo.
The vice-president summoned contractors and others involved in the NIPP project to secure their commitment to achieving the target date for completion.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Minister of State for Power Nuhu Wya said the experience of the vice-president who had been a member of the committee as governor of Kaduna State came handy at the parley.
The power minister who declined to give the current electricity generation level in the country stated that "we are managing the challenges in a better manner, so we are bound to have better results now. It is an ongoing process."
Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni told reporters after the meeting that the entire NIPP scheme including gas supply, security of installations and contractors as well as compensation to affected communities was reviewed.

Oni also confirmed the administration’s plan to decentralize electricity generation so that each plant will deliver electricity to its immediate locality, in order to avoid waste and extra cost of linking to the national distribution system.
The decentralization policy is expected to reduce a situation whereby large parts of the country experience blackouts whenever a single power plant suffers breakdown.

naijaking1:
Oh no, not you too!
Tell me anywhere esle in the World you have permanent, and persistent road blocks where policemen run for dear life at the news of impending attack by criminals? Even criminals who know and can predict the location of policemen on the highways simply take alternate routes to their destination. In the US, there maybe roving and patrolling police check points, especially when a crime is suspected, or they're on tip off. The only person who gains from the type of check-points we have in Nigeria is the corrupt policeman.

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Why are you trynna check a dude out?

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Its either this group of people  are insane or they have been cursed.

oloritinu:
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