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After Six Years of Promise, Power Generation in Nigeria Hits Low Again

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Electricity - Investors King

Despite promises made by President Muhammadu Buhari to provide Nigerians with 10,000 Megawatts of electricity in 2016, power generation still stands at 3,871MW.  

Investors King gathered that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) failed to allocate 1,357MW of electricity from a paltry 3, 871MW generated on Sunday to power distribution companies (DisCos). 

In a data report generated by Punch from the division of TCN, Nigerian Electricity System Operator, nine DisCos out of 11 were on Sunday allocated a total of 2, 514MW, leaving 1,357 unallocated.

A breakdown of the allocation for Sunday showed that Abuja DisCo received a total of 289.92MW; Benin DisCo, 226.89; Eko DisCo, 377.31MW; while 251.89MW was allocated to Enugu DisCo. Ibadan DisCos got an allocation of 348.73MW while Ikeja DisCo received the highest load of 478.15MW.

Jos DisCos got the lowest allocation of 138.66MW, Kaduna DisCos received 201.68MW, while Kano DisCos got 201.68MW.

In the last two years, Nigeria’s power generation has been on a record low of not up to 4000MW. The DisCos have most times, dragged TCN for weak transmission lines, low allocation, liquidity gap and others. The TCN, on the other hand, sometimes accuses the DisCos of load rejection.

Although the country’s national grid has a 13,014.14MW capacity, the GenCos generate a meagre 7,652.6MW, while TCN has capacity to wheel 8,100MW.

Experts say Nigeria needs at least 30, 000MW electricity for its over 200 million population to reach sufficiency. The national peak forecast is 19,798MW.

The highest generation ever achieved was 5801.6MW, and that was two years ago. 

In a relative situation, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) has decried the incessant attacks on its facilities in the four states under its jurisdiction.

The company said it was bothered by the recent damage of electrical facilities belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria in Cross River State. The Head, Corporate Communications, PHED, John Anonyai, in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, stated that the damage caused blackouts in some parts of Calabar, the state capital.

The statement read: “The management of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) Plc uses this medium to express her displeasure over the incessant vandalism of electric power facilities in its franchise, particularly the recent case responsible for the power outage in Cross Rivers State.

“This shameful act of vandalism that has rocked Calabar and its metropolis occurred about a month ago and has completely deprived deserving customers access to electricity services across the state.

“Historically, this is not the first time that heartless vandals are targeting such facilities without fear of being caught or electrocuted despite the heavy radiation of power transmitted from the towers.

“Painfully, for every act of vandalism which interrupts service delivery abruptly, PHED is always held liable with different sides to the story without facts as we currently experience in Calabar over this incident.”

According to Anonyai, residents of Calabar had been enjoying relative supply before the black-out as opposed to the current falsehood peddled by a sect of unknown faces whose plan was to trigger an unwarranted backlash against the company.

“It is pertinent to give a clue that the vandalized facilities at Oku Iboku belong to the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

“This, notwithstanding, as a responsible company that values the needs and comfort of her esteemed customers particularly in times like this, the company has been collaborating with TCN to restore supply.”

“It is no longer business as usual as the company will explore every single regulatory window to ensure collections and will only resort to disconnection where customers have clearly demonstrated recalcitrance by disregard to repeated demand and reminders to pay their bills,” PHED Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Henry Ajagbawa said in a statement. 

“We therefore appeal to our esteemed customers to ensure they pay their bills as at when due while hands are on deck to ensure continuous supply of uninterrupted power to the people of Cross River State and other franchise areas,” he added. 

With almost nine years of privatisation, the Federal Government said it had spent over N2tn on resolving decades of rot in the power.

 

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EFCC Nabs Ex-Delta Governor, Okowa, For Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, over the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

Sources with the EFCC revealed that Okowa visited the EFCC office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday before he was subsequently detained by officials.

The N1.3 trillion reportedly represents the 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

It was gathered that Okowa was at the Port Harcourt office of the Commission following an invitation from investigators probing the allegations against him.

The former governor was said to have been apprehended no sooner than he arrived at the anti-graft office.

Okowa was also accused of failing to account for the funds, as well as another N40 billion he allegedly claimed was used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Sources said the former governor reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project.

The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

They noted that investigators are also examining the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

Okowa was the running mate to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2023 election.

He was the governor of Delta State from 2015 to 2023 and was succeeded by Sheriff Oborevwori, the incumbent Governor.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the matter.

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FG Frees Minors Remanded For Protesting Hunger In Nigeria

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Some minors who joined the nationwide #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria have regained their freedom.

Their release followed the striking out of the treason charge against them by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Investors King had reported that the Federal Government through its security agencies arrested and preferred treason allegations against the minors who participated in the August #EndBadGovernance protest.

However, President Bola Tinubu had directed the release of the minors owing to the outrage that greeted their arrest, prosecution and incarceration.

Carrying out the presidential directive when the matter resumed on Tuesday, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, made an application for discontinuation of the case.

Abubakar, who is the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), premised his application on provisions of Sections 174(1), (b), and (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

He informed the court that the AGF had officially taken over the case file, saying the Federal Government no longer has interest in the case against the protesters.

The DPPF also applied for the proceeding to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266 (b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Child’s Rights Act.

Counsel to the defendants, including Mr Femi Fanala, SAN, did not oppose the application.

To this end, Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the charge against the protesters who were minors.

Recall that the judge had last Friday admitted the 114 protesters arraigned by the police to N10 million bail each with two sureties each in like sum.

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Knocks, Kudos For Judiciary Over Stoppage of Allocations to Rivers State as Fubara Boasts of Coping Without FG’s Funds

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Siminalayi Fubara

A mixture of condemnation and praises has trailed a judgement of a Federal High Court that stopped the release of state allocations to the Rivers State Government.

Investors King had reported that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the stoppage of the release of monthly federal allocations to Rivers State.

Justice Abdulmalik predicated her action on the grounds that the state government was in violation of the Constitution as regarding the state expenditures.

According to the judge, the current budget being operated by the state was not passed by a lawful arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly, therefore, Fubara is not entitled to allocations from the government at the centre.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the country have knocked the judiciary over the decision, calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to rein in on judges’ actions over the political crisis ravaging Rivers.

For former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the judiciary should be cautioned against setting the South-South State on fire.

In a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President, said it was appalling that some elements loyal to the Federal Government were pulling the strings from behind.

Atiku wondered why Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the order when it was public knowledge that Rivers State had already challenged the Court of Appeal’s judgement on the legality of Rivers State’s 2024 budget.

He, however, called on Justice Kekere-Ekun to ensure that those found wanting are disciplined in order to restore the fading glory of the nation’s judiciary.

In the same vein, Chief Emeka Kalu, National Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Coalition observed that the ongoing crisis plaguing Rivers State must be handled with caution to save it from unnecessarily being flamed in uncontrollable state of lawlessness.

Kalu in the statement said the judiciary is expected to maintain its integrity and protect her independence by working to avoid being politically purchased to harm democratic processes and the ethics of law.

According to him, the recent judgement by the Abuja Federal High Court division directing the RMAFC to stop releasing statutory monthly allocation to the State government was done out of bias and politically motivated plans to disrupt Fubara ‘s administration.

The group affirmed that it remains the height of injustice for a political party under the guise of personal interest to continue raising the dust of anarchy against the will of the people and the judiciary is expected to redeem and revitalize the failed system instead of allowing herself to be used to ruin the polity.

On the contrary, the National Democratic and Change Coalition has hailed the court for the judgment banning further release of allocations to Rivers and called on Governor Fubara to refund all monies spent without appropriation to the state coffers.

The coalition, while expressing satisfaction with the ruling, said the people of Rivers State have been vindicated and the long-awaited justice has been served on the governor.

Reacting via a press release by John Uloko, president of the coalition hailed Justice Joyce Abdulmalik for the judgment, saying that since January 2024, Rivers State had received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, thereby describing it as a “constitutional aberration”.

The group, made up of lawyers, agreed with the court that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to the constitutional provision.

It added that the ruling is a victory for democracy and will teach rogue governors the bitter lesson that the Constitution of the Federal Republic must be respected and the sanctity of the nation’s democratic institutions upheld irrespective of their political desperation.

Nonetheless, the embattled Governor Fubara, on Wednesday said the restriction placed on the state allocations is “the least” of his problems.

Governor Fubara stated this during a special thanksgiving service organised by the state government to celebrate his administration’s resilience amid escalating political crises, which began with the arson attack on the State House of Assembly complex exactly one year ago.

Governor Fubara assured that despite the court order, his administration would continue payments to contractors and ensure workers’ salaries are disbursed from today (Thursday).

He also confirmed that allocations for the 23 Council Chairmen would be credited, as the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee procedures have been completed.

The governor encouraged his supporters to remain resilient, assuring them that all challenges are surmountable.

Reflecting on his administration’s success, Governor Fubara noted that despite predictions that his government would not last even a week, he has successfully led for over a year.

He said his administration has also conducted local government elections against all odds and maintained a full cabinet despite attempts to undermine his leadership through resignations.

Highlighting his administration’s progress, he mentioned ongoing project executions across the state, countering critics who claimed he would be unable to deliver.

He also cited recent reports that position Rivers State as one of the leaders in financial accountability and transparency.

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