Category: Special Report

Beyond the inauguration of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) natural gas pipeline project lay the hope for the revamping of the economy. Stakeholders are equally upbeat that this $2.8 billion project may be the needed impetus to rebuild the industrial base of the nation, especially in Kano and Kaduna states. MUYIWA LUCAS, JOHN OFIKHENUA, ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, FANEN IHYONGO and JAMES AZANIA report.

KADUNA was once the hub of textile manufacturing in Nigeria with textile factories, including Kaduna Textiles Limited (KTL), Arewa Textiles, United Nigeria Textile Limited (UNTL) and others, located in Kakuri industrial area of the state and employed not less than 30,000 workers. This was at a period the country could boast of having one of the finest and most vibrant textile industries on the continent. At its peak in the 1980s, the industry was at that time a huge foreign exchange earner.

From the premises and surrounding gates of the Arewa Textile Mills, Kaduna, now overgrown with weeds, to the dilapidated structure, the story of the sorry state of not only textile mills in the country, but generally, its industrial base, stares observers in the face. With the existing industrial collapse and mass unemployment, it has remained tales of woe for not only the textile sector but the industrial base of the country.

But, it appears a positive twist in the tale is unfolding and there is hope on the horizon. The inauguration of a $2.8 billion gas pipeline project by President Muhammadu Buhari may have suddenly reawakened the industrialisation drive of the nation. The 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano project is expected to add 3,600MW of electricity to the grid when completed and also supply industrial clusters with constant power.

A new bride

Nigeria has insisted on boosting its domestic gas utilisation. With the launch of the construction of the AKK gas pipeline project, boosting electricity generation would be a walkover for the country that has joined other nations to jettison coal for power despite its huge reserves.

At a technical workshop last year, with the theme: “Gas Utilisation in Nigeria: Challenges, Opportunity and Outlook,” organised by Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Lagos Branch, the Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Ladan Mordecai Lawan revealed that Nigeria had 200.79 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. This quantity places Nigeria as a gas-producing nation because of its potential gas reserves which were more than its crude oil reserves.

Represented by the Deputy Manager, Gas Division of DPR, Mr Olawale Ogunsola, he said national gas reserves rose to 200.79 trillion cubic feet as of January 1, 2019. Giving a breakdown, he revealed that Nigeria produces daily 1.2 billion standard cubic feet (scf) with 41 per cent of the daily production exported while 48 per cent went to the domestic market, and 11 per cent was being flared.

“From this, it is obvious that the country has a gas resource in abundance. In the global ranking, Nigeria is number nine in terms of reserves. But the country’s gas production and utilisation are still low,” he said.

Kaduna Polytechnic Rector Prof. Idris Bugaje observed that states like Kaduna, just like other Northern states have great agricultural potentials and as such there would be a number of urea fertiliser plants to come on board to be fed with natural gas from the AKK Pipeline. Urea absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and therefore is typically stored either in sealed plastic inner bags or, if stored in bulk, under tight cover with tarpaulin.

“NOTORE in Port Harcourt are the only producers of Urea Fertilizer which they largely export. Kaduna, Kano and Niger should endeavour to establish their own Urea Plants and be able to feed the other Northern States,” he explained.

The Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano natural gas pipeline is also designed to pave the way for the development of three-based Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in Abuja (1350MW), Kaduna (900MW) and Kano (1350MW) respectively.

According to the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, actualising this project will steer the development of gas-based industries in these places and beyond. For Kano State, the governor noted, it will revitalise the economy of the State to regain its pride of place as the gateway to businesses and industries for the West African sub-region, Ganduje told The Nation in a chat through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Abba Anwar.

The governor described the project as “a genuine political will” by Buhari to fast track re-industrialisation process for the state and the country, with “more modern touch.”

“Having a clear understanding of the problem of our state, Kano, President Buhari thought it absolutely well to kick-start and complete this process of re-launching the state (Kano) to her lost glory days of industrialisation. By the time industries in Kano, Kaduna and other areas bounce back, the benefits will go round the nation and beyond,” he explained.

Besides, the project, it is believed, will boost long term economic aspirations and domestic energy infrastructure, while deepening local gas market, creating industrial corridors with cleaner fuel, and commercialising the country’s abundant gas resources.

Economic boost

Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i at the occasion of the inauguration of the Kaduna end of the AKK project is hopeful that the project will bring about rapid economic development in the northwest zone and indeed, the entire country. He believes that the project has, no doubt, lifted hope for the economic recovery of Kaduna State, as one of its major targets, is the revival of the comatose textile industries and the Kakuri industrial area in general.

The National Vice-President, Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria and Chairman, Dala Foods, Kano, Alli Madugu agreed that the overall benefit of the project will “definitely rekindle the economy of Kano” because, with the issue of power plant that will be built, a lot of industries will go off the national grid, freeing up electricity for other smaller businesses and homes.

“With gas, the companies can generate their own power. So, if we are supposed to buy a unit of electricity at N60, with the coming of the gas option through the AKK project, the price will crash to maybe N20 per unit. So, manufacturers and industrialists will rather generate their own power from the gas rather than going to buy from the national grid,” the Dala Foods chairman explained.

He added that most of the firms in Lagos are generating their own power that is why smaller ones are still able to get power to buy.

“Had it been that companies such as Dangote, PZ, Nestle and Flour Mills, among others, are buying power from the national grid, then we would not have had light anywhere to use because they would have bought up everything,” he said.

The Chairman, Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), Kaduna State branch, Cibi Hayab, described the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project as a welcome development, saying that, by the time the gas is readily available; many companies will be able to generate their own power without difficulty and at a cheaper rate.

He said: “There are many benefits to derive from the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline because all the public power supply is not very efficient and the alternative source of power is through the gas. So, if gas is easily available then many companies will be able to generate their own power without so much difficulty which may even be cheaper than the public utility from the national grid.

“Many of the private generating plants use gas and without the pipeline, it means they will have to transfer the gas all the way from the Southern part of the country. But with the gas readily available at their domain, many industries will be able to generate their own power supply, perhaps, at a cheaper rate, using gas,” Hayab reasoned.

He noted that the project would also create employment opportunities and foster development while utilising local skills and manpower and promote local manufacturing.

Giving more insight into the technical benefits of the projects, Bugaje said: “AKK Pipeline, which will transport up to 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day from various gas gathering sites in Southern Nigeria and process at Ajaokuta will produce Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) used largely for domestic cooking, while the remaining dry gas will be transported to supply feedstock for new power plants and petrochemical plants at Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.

“A very significant industrial use of the AKK gas would be in the production process of heat for many industries. Textile Mills in Kaduna and Kano, for example, collapsed partly due to the very high cost of black oil which sold at a whopping N140 per litre over two decades ago. Natural gas can be connected to appropriate burners in water tube boilers to produce both low-pressure steam and process hot water to meet the requirements of many manufacturing industries.”

Similarly, a lecturer at the Kogi State Polytechnic, Tope Joel, asserted that the economy of the area will be boosted through numerous avenues. He said just like any other situation of this nature, the economy of Ajaokuta and its environs will greatly improve as people will be employed, while material goods and social services will be in demand.

“People of the communities will be employed; don’t forget there will be a spike in the daily need for food, services and other sundry needs in the communities. In the two, or so years that the project is expected to be completed, a whole lot of activities will surface, to add to the economic development of the areas,” he said.

Looking ahead

Even as speculation of the huge benefits that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project would yield, stakeholders and experts, have suggested that the focus of usage of the product from the project should be on the private sector and not the electricity distribution companies, which, till date, have been unable to utilise (evacuate) even the thermal power source that is available.

The President may have been thinking along this line.

At the inauguration of the AKK project, President Buhari urged the private sector to champion the efforts for optimal use of the nation’s gas resources, insisting that the private sector has what is required to create a petrochemical hub aimed at resurrecting the manufacturing industry and putting the country on the path of increased self-sufficiency.

As if responding to the President’s challenge, The Nation gathered that smart businessmen in Kano and Kaduna states have started constructing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants. Already, this has encouraged some gas moguls in the country to move ahead of production.

According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN ) National Vice-President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, well-meaning Nigerians have started taking advantage of the gas project.

“Now there are states such as Kaduna and Kano that have started constructing LPG filling stations. They are targeting the AKK plant as their source of energy. When the project gets to Kano and Kaduna, it will impact on other northern states. Normally, the transportation of gas increases the rate. When it is being pushed down, the cost will reduce and it will lead to gas availability,” he said.

In a chat with The Nation, Maigandi expects that the project will not only crash the prices of gas, it will also culminate in the availability of the product in the country.

Challenge

Madugu, though happy about the project, he, however, calls for caution. According to him, the industrial estates in Kano are already oversaturated.

“The Sharada, Challawa and Bompai industrial estates are already over-saturated. So, the issue now is that commercial activities in Kano have started taking over some of the industries, and Kano is now becoming a commercial city where people operate warehouses. So, for now, the gas pipeline coming to Kano in the industrial areas will be challenging,” he told The Nation in a telephone chat.

Madugu, however, called on the state government to collaborate with the Federal Government and map out a route for the AKK project such that it can birth a new industrial layout for the state. When this is done, he argued, the AKK project will be better utilised by industries that will eventually relocate to this project axis.

“It will be very difficult for the old industrial layout in Kano to benefit from this project because some of the industrial layouts have shut down and commercial activities have taken over the place. If you are putting infrastructure for 200 companies and only a fraction will utilise it, of what use is that?

“On the other hand, if along Kaduna-Kano Road, the AKK pipeline will go through there it will be easy for people to begin to set up industrial firms along that corridor.

So, with that, many industries in Kano will be relocating there because the land will be cheaper, the congestion will be reduced and the concentration of industries will be there. The Bompai industrial estate is already in the middle of the city up to Challawa,” Madugu said.

Further development

Yet, more benefits to the economic development of the country abound from the project. Bugaje further explained that petrochemicals that can be produced from natural gas are many and include Urea Fertiliser, Ammonia, Methanol and other alcohols, Formaldehyde, Ethylene Glycol and various liquid transport fuels, among others.

All these, he noted, can be produced from synthesis gas (made from natural gas) by using carefully selected catalysts and appropriate reaction conditions. Synthesis Gas (sometimes shortened to Syngas) compositions must, therefore, be well controlled during processing in order to achieve high-quality final products. “Kaduna, just like other Northern states, has great agricultural potential and as such, we should expect a number of Urea Fertiliser plants to come on board to be fed with natural gas from the AKK pipeline,” he said.

He advised that Kaduna, Kano and Niger states should endeavour to establish their own Urea Plants and be able to feed other Northern states.

Local content

Stakeholders are not oblivious of the benefits that may accrue to the country in terms of local content development. Maigandi, therefore, urged the Federal Government to insist on the engagement of Nigerian youths, especially those that the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) trained abroad in welding and other relevant skills. With this, he said, Nigeria can realise optimal benefits from the AKK gas pipeline project.

He reiterated that some Nigerians were the brain behind the construction of pipeline projects in other countries; therefore, they should be employed to bring their expertise to bear on the project instead of engaging foreigners.

“They (Federal Government and the contractors) should fully engage Nigerians to make it provide employment opportunities. In most of the gas pipeline projects in other countries, you may find out that Nigerians are working there.

“If Nigerians can do the job in other countries, I see no reason they cannot do it in their country. They should involve Nigerians fully. They should engage the Nigerians whom the PTDF has trained overseas in this field,” he insisted.

Notwithstanding the availability of the product (gas) and its usage by companies in the areas, the commencement of work will, no doubt, boost the overall economy of the immediate and surrounding areas the pipelines will run through.

Foreign investors

Bugaje explained that since the project is likely to take two years to complete, it now gives good time for Nigerian and foreign investors to start planning the relevant downstream industries to utilise the dry gas (largely made up of methane). While electric power plants are major consumers of gas, an even greater value addition industry is the petrochemical industry.

“The states of Kano, Kaduna and Niger and the FCT should immediately set out committees to pursue investors in these sectors,” Bugaje said.

Political will

Laudable as the project is, there are fears that a lack of political will may eventually truncate it. Except for lack of political will, Nigeria has all it takes to actualise the project in terms of gas reserves.

Maigandi warns that if the project is not eventually enmeshed in political gimmicks, then the AKK project “is a very good one” as it will help the gas revolution programme become a reality.

Buhari on June 30 launched the building of the $2.8 billion projects which is due for completion in 24 months. The course of the gas pipeline project is from Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System – 2 (ELPS-2), Obiafu to Obrikom (OB3) pipeline and AKK.

Spanning 614 kilometres through Kogi, Niger, the Federal Capital Territory, Kaduna and Kano states, the project is expected to inject 2.2bscf/d of gas into the domestic market and equally facilitate additional power generation capacity of 3,600 megawatts of electricity.

The main contractor of the project is Messrs Oilserv Plc/China First Highway Engineering Company (Oilserv/CFHEC Consortium) is assigned to handle the first segment covering 303 kilometres.

According to its Chairman, Dr Emeka Okwuosa, upon completion of the project, the country’s gas infrastructure would be sufficient enough to raise and repay its loans earlier than the targeted date.

His name has been on the lips of so many because of his near-perfect performances  for Villarreal since the restart of football in Spain post-COVID-19 lockdown. But how did Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze morphed from being a teenage sensation  to a ‘Submarine’  in the La Liga? Sport Editor MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN traces Chukwueze’s humble beginning  from  Umuahia-based Diamond Soccer Academy to  the Yellow Submarines accompanied by revealing insights by a motley crew of coaches that shaped the career of the Super Eagles’ star

Together with his alter ego in the shape of Kelechi Nwakali, Samuel Chukwueze breezed into the national U-17 camp in Calabar that eerie morning in November, 2012 clutching a bag  with some sundry football items while his soccer boot bag was delicately strapped around his neck.

Former Nigerian international, Emmanuel Amuneke, the first assistant to coach Manu Garba, announced with glee: “That is Samuel, the boy I’d been talking about; this boy plays like a machine and we would all see what he can do.

“Of course, golden fish has no hiding place and Chukwueze would soon reveal his repertoire in the coming days and weeks as the 2013 class of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets intensify their preparation ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates,” Amuneke said.

Prior to Amuneke’s recommendation, Chukwueze’s name first reverberated  along with his Umuahia-based  Diamond Academy at an invitational tournament in Portugal where he shone like a neon light in the dark.

“Chukwueze made a first huge impression on me in Portugal when we went for Elbar Cup in Portugal through my academy and he emerged the highest goal scorer in the team at the tournament,” recalled Amuneke who would later give the lad his major breakthrough at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile. “I knew this player was going to be great because the manner and way he scored those goals was extraordinary because he  dominated the ball and  dribbled even  with the little body he has.”

Yet Chukwueze’s innate talent did not come as surprise to a certain talent scout and former player, Tony Adiele who saw the lad grew through the ranks in the dusty playing fields at Umuahia.

“I saw great potential when I first saw Samuel Chukwueze,” Adiele, who made his name with a string of clubs in the old Lagos Football, including the defunct IBWA, Savannah Bank, FHA, UAC and  Agip Oil.

“I saw the kind of potential that had not been found in recent times in Nigerian football and straight away I got interested in his development,” Adiele stated.

Adiele, who later in his heydays featured for elite clubs such as Vasco Da Gama of Enugu; Stationery Stores of Lagos, Julius Berger , Sharks of Port Harcourt  and Insurance of Benin, is  respected for his ability to spot talented players and he noted that the likes of Chukwueze comes once in a generation.

“When you watch Chukwueze, you see potential,” explained Adiele. “Potential is what we can call hidden talent and it’s like something that has not yet developed at all. When I first saw him, I saw qualities that are far beyond players of his age; he had something special,”he noted.

Back to the national U-17 camp, the nimble-footed winger displayed his dexterity with the ball by showing the wiles and guiles akin to that of his mentor, the legendary Dutch winger Arjen Robben to the amazement of onlookers.

“My first impression of him (Chukwueze) was here is a young player who has the potential to be among the best in the world if he listens to his coaches, work hard and be focused in his career,” recollected coach Manu Garba, the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning coach. “He was very skinny and was about the youngest in  the national U-17 camp  then at the  Princeville  Hotel  in Calabar and I used to give him extra chicken  whenever we were eating  and I used to tell him to add to his chicken so that his muscles  can grow.

“All the coaches in the national camp were always giving him words of encouragement and I think technically and tactically, he learned from us.

“He is one of the listening types because he assimilates and delivers the information given to him well and that has guided him to perform extremely well in 2015 during the U-17 World Cup in Chile,”Adiele said.

Nduka Ugbade, former Nigerian international who was Garba’s second assistant equally recapped his first encounter with Chukwueze, adding that his potentialities were glaring and pleasing to the eyes.

“I had the opportunity to see Chukwueze for the first time in 2012,” explained Ugbade, who captained Nigeria to win the maiden FIFA Cadet World Cup at China 1985.

“Coach Emmanuel Amuneke was the first person to mention him (Chukwueze) and Kelechi Nwakali to me as two young players that he thought should come to the camp to learn one or two things that could be useful to the next set of Golden Eaglets but I marvelled at his ability when he joined us in camp.

“I knew then that he was going to be a very big player in the future; his  ball handling was very good and big for his age with a lot of childish behavioural patterns that would call for laughter most often,“ Ugbade said.

But for a freak injury, Chukwueze, according to Garba, had all it takes to have been part of his all-conquering Golden Eaglets class of 2013 that was populated with the likes of Musa Muhammed, Kelechi Iheanacho, and goalkeeper Dele Alampasu.

“Without sentiment, he was one of the players we registered for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup but unfortunately he and Kelechi Nwakali were nursing some injuries. That explained why we didn’t take them to Dubai for the pre-World Cup camp so that we don’t endanger their career since their ages qualified them to play in 2015,” he explained.

In the following set-up under Coach Emmanuel Amuneke, Chukwueze became a major fulcrum in the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 AFCON in Niger en route to the FIFA U-17 World Cup championship in Chile where Nigeria claimed her fifth record title.

Amuneke said unlike some of his contemporaries, Chukwueze is a single-minded and disciplined player. Those qualities have stood him in good stead right from his days in the national youth team set-up.

“Chukwueze is a very good boy,” the no-nonsense Amuneke said matter-of-factly. “He never had any problem throughout his days in the U-17 team and U-20 team with me.

“He is very disciplined and I think he knows where he’s coming from, and realises that every opportunities count. He has been able to make the best out of the opportunity.

“As a coach, it’s always nice to see somebody that grew up with you from his youthful age to becoming a senior player and still playing very well with all humility,”Amuneke said.

Now capped 13 times for the Super Eagles, winger Chukwueze is credited with two goals, including the opening goal in the 2-1 defeat of Bafana Bafana of South Africa and deservedly voted Man-of-the-Match in that volatile quarter-final match of the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2019.

Apart from doing well with the Super Eagles in recent times, Chukwueze’s fine form for his Spanish LaLiga side Villarreal was rewarded in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Awards with the Best Young Player. He has also been celebrated on global pedestal too.

The first born with two other siblings, Chukwueze, according to Spanish influential tabloid, Marca is one of the players in Europe’s top five leagues who have progressed the most in recent time with a market value of about 2.5 million Euros at the start of the 2018/19 season to over seven million Euros on current form. Yet, Villarreal has tied the player down with a release clause of about 40 million Euros–meaning he can only be priced away with a mouth-watering fee.

Aside, the European soccer ruling body, UEFA in its 2019/2020 appraisal listed him in an exclusive list of ‘50 For The Future’ and even described him as a ‘precocious winger with UEFA Europa League experience.’

Such adulations for Chukwueze did not come as a surprise for former Nigerian international midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju who incidentally earned his own stripes in the LaLiga with Racing Santander and Real Sociedad. He said: “He (Chukwueze) has learnt tactical discipline and awareness since his days in the junior national team and that is why his transition into the first team at Villarreal and even the Super Eagles was possible.

“He has been showing it in all the games he has been playing; there is no doubt on his technical abilities because he is a very good player with abundant skills, dribbles with speed and blessed with a good left foot,” Adepoju said.

Amuneke, the former Barcelona winger and 1994 Africa Footballer of the Year, corroborated Adepoju’s assertion on Chukwueze’s tactical and technical progression, adding that his exposure to the demands of LaLiga has broadened his horizon.

“Tactically, Chukwueze has improved and that’s one of the things I taught them during the time I was their coach in the Golden Eaglets,” Amuneke explained.

“I knew we had good players among who is Chukwueze in the team but there were other aspects that the player needed in order to improve: the ability of playing without the ball, positioning with or without the ball; ability of knowing when to mark and when not to mark.

“But having the opportunity to go to Villarreal has afforded him a lot of time and more insight to become a more compact player,” Amuneke noted.

Now in his third season with the Yellow Submarines, Samu as he’s fondly called by his colleagues at the club, has played  almost 80 matches  and scored 13 goals, including three  goals in the ongoing season.

“He is young and willing to learn and that will help his career here at Villarreal and maybe even beyond; the reason he is here is because he is special,” noted Villarreal legend Santi Cazorla.

But it is his near-perfect performances for Villarreal since the restart of the LaLiga after the COVID-19 lockdown that has certainly made Chukwueze one of the most-sought-after youngsters in world football today.

The 22-year-old attacker was named man of the match in his first start of the post-COVID-19 era in the Yellow Submarines’ 1-0 win over Mallorca on June 16  where his pace and skills were a handful for the opposition defenders.

He  has featured in all Villarreal’s post-Covid-19 games, starting five out of  the eight matches played so far, including Wednesday’s  3-1 vital win at Getafe to keep their Europe dream alive.

Villarreal, which have won six, drawn one and lost once, moved to the fifth position with 57 points, just three points off Sevilla that are occupying the last champion league position.

“It’s a good development for Nigerian football with Chukwueze doing well with Villarreal,” surmised Garba, who twice captained El-Kanemi Warriors to win the Challenge Cup in his playing days.

“Technically, his ball reception and retention has been so good because when he is in control of the ball, he hardly loses possession to opponents.

“He carries dribbles and can also guard the ball well; his ball release is equally good but he has to improve on his long passes and crosses,” Garba said.

Though with huge visibility on the social media, Chukwueze is never carried away with endorsement of his army of followers  and in definitive interview at the outset of his career  with this writer, he enthused about the prospect of hitting global acclaim.

“I love playing football as well as cracking jokes. I like catching fun with my friends. But there are other things I like doing too. I like playing and watching lawn tennis,” he said. I like Roger Federer and Serena Williams because they are very talented and they are my two favourite tennis players. I want to be as famous as Serena Williams.

“I don’t like losing; losing a match can make me cry. I want to be a winner and I think I have the opportunity of learning new things by playing in Europe,” Chukwueze said.

Already, a FIFA U-17 World Cup winner in 2015  where he was also rewarded with the Bronze Boot Award, Chukwueze  was in the top three list of players for the 2019 Africa Youth Player of the Year but Super Eagles’ coach Gernot Rohr is of the opinion that the Villarreal winger would join  exclusive list of Nigeria’s great players.

The 67-year-old experienced coach and former Bayern Munich defender said with more consistent performances for Villarreal, Chukwueze can emulate the feat of some of his illustrious compatriots such as the late Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba and Nwankwo Kanu who were crowned African Players of the Year at the peak of their careers.

“For the future, Samuel has to be careful and work hard because he is a great player for Nigeria like Okoch and Kanu,” explained Rohr in his usual frankness. “He has to work hard because he can be one of the best Nigerian players ever. That is sure but he has to work hard because he has everything technically, tactically and mentally to be the best,”Rohr said.

The Coronavirus pandemic has sent economic and social shocks across households and businesses. Amid these developments, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) inaugurated a N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) disbursed through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank to households and businesses affected by the pandemic. COLLINS NWEZE writes that the palliative, which is a low-interest loan, became a lifesaver for enterprises with impaired cashflows and households whose sources of income were depleted by the pandemic.

WHEN Adejo Negodu, the managing director, Enegas Limited, started expanding his gas supply chain in March, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of his competitors familiar with the cash crunch in the business were astonished.

Just weeks before the exercise, he had complained about the impact of Covid-19 pandemic in the cooking gas segment of the economy, making him suspend expansion plans until the economy improves.

But all that changed when Negodu, who is based in Abuja, became one of the thousands of businesses and households that benefited from the N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.

Enegas Limited’s operations were not only expanded outside Abuja, but has surmounted the cashflow challenge through the stimulus package provided by the CBN using the TCF scheme.

“The fund was hardly and has helped us to continue operations amid the pandemic. Our sales volume has gone up and our profitability increased,” Negodu said.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has a severe impact on the livelihood of households and business activities resulting to drop in global demand for goods and services, declined consumer confidence, and a slowdown in production among others.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said the TCF was designed to cushion the adverse effects of COVID-19 on households and MSMEs. He said the scheme was to support households and MSMEs whose economic activities have been significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulate credit to MSMEs to expand their productive capacity through equipment upgrade, research and development.

He explained that loan disbursements were based on the activity, cash flow, and industry size of the beneficiaries. Each eligible MSMEs received a maximum of N25 million while qualified households can access a maximum of N3 million each.

Also, working capital was pegged at a maximum of 25 per cent of the average of the previous three years’ annual turnover. But where the enterprise is not up to three years in operation, 25 per cent of the previous year’s turnover sufficed.

Many other MSME beneficiaries spoke about the impact of the fund, and the boost it brought to their businesses.

The Managing Director, Juhel Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Ifeanyi Okoye, was also one of the beneficiaries of the TCF scheme.

According to him, the company has received the palliative loan and working with the fund to expand its facilities and be able to manufacture most drugs in Nigeria.

Another beneficiary, a businessman based in Awka Anambra State, Moses Ogbo, said he applied and secured the loan without problems. “Our TCF was approved within six weeks I applied for it with my mobile phone. I was called by the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank to come and draw down the facility. My business turnover has improved since then,” he said.

Entertainment and Sports Business Specialist, based in Asaba, Delta State, Henry Asimoye, said he had shut down the business when the impact of the pandemic worsened. “When we shut down, I applied and we received the stimulus which enabled us to return to business,” he said.

According to CBN guidelines, access to the facility was smoothed by new provisions requiring that households and MSMEs applying for the fund would not be required to provide guarantors before they can access the credit facility.

All applicants to the N50 billion credit facility, who have completed the application processes and submitted their account details, got the funds credited to their accounts within 48 hours.

The CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the CBN had waived the requirement for the provision of guarantors by households and small and medium enterprises applying for the loan to assuage the concerns of those who had fulfilled all requirements for the loan but were yet to have their accounts credited, particularly as other persons had begun to receive credit alerts.

Speaking on the reality and impact of the scheme, Senator Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central), said the loans have impacted positively on the businesses and income of households that took the loans at five per cent interest rate. He said the scheme has boosted businesses and economy, businesses and household beneficiaries.

NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, on behalf of CBN, had since April 2020, commenced the disbursement of the fund to beneficiaries.

NIRSAL Microfinance Bank Managing Director Abubakar Kure said the facility was available for service providers in the health sector, trading and all those businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the objective was to provide cash flow which has been disrupted by the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic.

He said the bank had improved its processes, systems, people to be able to meet up with the expectations. “You are fully aware that this loan is for a short term. It’s a short term seamless package by Central Bank intended to cushion the effect on businesses and people,” he added.

Understanding TCF Modalities

According to the CBN guidelines, the scheme was funded from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) and the eligible participating financial institution for the scheme is NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB).

The apex bank sourced the fund from its MSME development fund which was administered through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank. Thus, while the CBN provided the funds, applicants applied for the loan through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.

According to the CBN guidelines, the first step is for an eligible household to apply NIRSAL MFB, which must, among others, contain Bank Verification Number, business registration (where applicable) and business plan with clear evidence of the opportunity or adverse impact as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

The NMFB then appraised and conducted due diligence applications and upon a satisfactory appraisal of application, NMFB forwarded the applications to the CBN for final approval, then, CBN reviews applications and gives final approval for disbursement to NMFB.

For corporate entities like their MSMEs counterparts, applications were submitted to NMFB with clear evidence of the opportunity or adverse impact as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. Also, NMFB appraised and conducted due diligence applications, after a satisfactory appraisal of the application, NMFB forwarded the applications to the CBN for final approval. CBN reviewed applications and gives final approval for disbursement to NMFB.

The interest rate under the intervention was pegged at five per cent per annum (all-inclusive) up to February 28, 2021, and thereafter, the interest on the facility shall revert to nine per cent per annum (all-inclusive) as from March 1, 2021.

Other Stimulus packages by the apex bank

Data from the CBN showed that the apex bank had disbursed the total sum of N107.45 billion to beneficiaries from the N1.15 trillion Covid-19 Pandemic Intervention Funds so far.

The bank has also disbursed N93.2 billion under the Real Sector Support Fund to boost local manufacturing, which consists of 44 Greenfield and Brownfield projects.

The Bank has approved N10.9 billion to 14,331 beneficiaries under the N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility for Households and SMEs, out of which N4.1 billion has been disbursed to 5,868 successful beneficiaries.

Recovery plans for the economy

As part of the lessons from the current pandemic, the CBN said there was a need to ensure that Nigeria’s value-added sector, the manufacturing industry, is strengthened.

Accordingly, the CBN will pursue policies that will reinvigorate our financial support for the manufacturing sector by expanding the intervention all through its value-chain.

To force a regime of efficient, uninterrupted electricity supply, the power sector was privatised in 2013. But, seven years after, there has not been any significant improvement in electricity supply, despite spending N1.8 trillion on the power sector since 2015. Nigeria currently generates 3,400 Megawatts (MW) of electricity, down from over 4,000 MW prior to privatisation. This falls short of about 150,000MW required to support full industrialisation and reboot the economy post COVID-19. This has prompted renewed agitation for a review of privatisation. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports

THE Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, recently sought to restore, albeit unsuccessfully, the waned hopes of Nigerians that the Federal Government would eventually make good its promise to deliver efficient, uninterrupted electricity supply. He announced with glee that Nigerians should expect 11,000 Megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2023.

The minister, who made the fresh promise in the heat of the growing public outcry against the deplorable state of the power sector despite its privatisation, drew his strength from the agreement he said the Nigerian Government reached with German firm Siemens.

According to him, under a three-phase deal, the energy technology giant will grow Nigeria’s present 3,400 MW of electricity to 7,000MW by the end of next year. The phase 2 of the project will then grow the capacity to 11,000 MW by the end of 2023, while the third phase will deliver 25,000 MW to Nigerian households and businesses.

Encouraged by the July 2019 agreement with Siemens to boost power supply in Nigeria, the minister said “The stage is set for the perennial power problem to become a thing of the past.” He said, for instance, that Nigeria’s current power generation capacity is more than 13,000 megawatts, but only an average of 3,400 MW reliably reach consumers.

Muhammed, however, assured that based on the agreement with Siemens, the current amount of power that reaches electricity consumers will more than double by the end of next year. “This will create thousands of jobs and will leapfrog the country into the next level of industrial and social development,” he added.

But it is doubtful if Nigerians are swayed. “The 11, 000 MW by 2023 is, to me, a mere political gimmick,” the Registrar, The Institute of Business Development (IBD), Dr. Paul Ikele, charged.

While expressing doubt over the possibility of achieving the target, Ikele wondered how Nigeria will achieve 11,000 MW by 2023, which is just three years from now, when the same feat could not be achieved seven years after the privatisation of the power sector.

He also said the minister failed to articulate concrete plans on how the new target will be met this time. “You are talking about the next three years, isn’t it?” he asked, noting that, “It is good to make permutations, but such should be factual; there should be some indices to indicate how to attain it.

“Since we have not been able to achieve it in seven years, what were the problems? Have we been able to solve them? Have we looked at the fundamental issues responsible for the lingering crisis in the electricity supply industry with a view to addressing them?”

Ikele and indeed, other concerned industry stakeholders could not fathom how, despite the privatisation, electricity generation capacity still stands at a paltry 3,400 MW, even after Nigeria had spent N1.8 trillion on the power sector since 2015, and has continued to lose a staggering $29 billion to epileptic power supply yearly.

The Federal Government had in November 2013 unbundled the defunct state-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) into 18 successor companies and subsequently handed them over to private investors. This was to help bring about efficient service delivery in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

The exercise was expected to set the stage for a major transformation of the power sector to guarantee uninterrupted electricity supply to the manufacturing sector and Nigerians in general.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which midwifed the privatisation exercise, projected that the private investors who bought 60 per cent shares in the power assets would increase electricity generation capacity to 20,000 megawatts by 2018, and 40, 000MW by 2020.

It was also envisaged that the sales would reduce the losses of Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) caused by poor maintenance of the network and poor revenue generation.

This was why the eleven (11) power Distribution Companies (DisCos), in a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the BPE, agreed to reduce losses significantly within five years. They also promised to roll out meters to ensure that customers are no longer exploited under the estimated billing system.

On their part, the power Generation Companies (GenCos) committed themselves to turning around the nation’s three hydro power plants and other gas-fired plants and expand their capacity to generate more power supply above 5, 000 MW.

The industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), also rolled out the interim rules and other electricity market code to guide the private operators in doing business as well as setting Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the new core investors.

Sadly, however, none of these has happened, seven years after, thereby putting on hold the collective aspirations of Nigerians to leverage a robust power sector to achieve full industrialization, global competitiveness and more importantly, reboot an economy severely battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather than see any significant improvement in electricity supply, Nigerians have continued to agonise over persistent power outages, as electricity generation capacity worsened. From over 4,000 MW of electricity Nigeria was generating before privatisation in 2013, the capacity currently stands at 3,400 MW.

This is considered a drop in the ocean by energy experts, considering the fact that about 150, 000 MW, according to them, is required to power Africa’s largest economy with a population of 200 million.

Experts at professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Nigeria) were emphatic that “Nigeria will only have the kind of power that will support full industrialisation when the country is capable of generating at least 150,000MW of electricity.”

PwC’s team of experts led by Partner and Leader, Power & Utilities, Mr. Pedro Omontuemhen, said rule of thumb estimation postulates that approximately 1,000MW serves around a million people in a population.

Nigeria lags behind peers

While Nigeria is still struggling to reach 11,000 MW by 2023, South Africa currently has a total domestic electricity generation capacity of 51,309 MW from all energy sources, according to its Ministry of Energy.

The Nation learnt that electricity in the Rainbow Nation is mainly produced using coal-fired power stations,  with approximately 91.2 per cent, or 46,776 MW coming from thermal power stations, while 4,533 MW, or 8.8 per cent is generated from renewable energy sources.

South Africa’s electricity generation is dominated by state-owned power company Eskom, which currently produces over 96.7 per cent of the power used in the country, with a population of about 59 million.

Ethiopia is also said to be building for export 10,000 MW of hydropower as opposed to 4,700MW by Nigeria’s National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), while the Democratic Republic of Congo is undertaking a 40,000 MW Grand Inga for Africa.

Ghana, with a population of about 28 million (about the size of Lagos), currently has over 4,000MW of installed generation capacity, though actual availability is around 2,400 MW due to changing hydrological conditions, inadequate fuel supplies and dilapidated infrastructure.

However, with a significant endowment of natural gas and renewable energy to generate electricity, the Ghanaian authorities are poised to overcome these constraints to the country’s aspiration to industrialize, modernize its agriculture, and provide economic opportunities for its citizens.

Why privatisation failed

Why did the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector fail woefully when the same approach to driving efficiency in service delivery literarily worked magic in other countries? Why did the exercise, which promised to offer solution to the country’s perennial power crisis, become the problem?

Also, why has it been practically impossible to improve power delivery across the generation, transmission and distribution value chain despite the sector gulping billions of naira and subjecting electricity consumers to endless upward review of electricity tariff without a commensurate increase in supply?

There have been several reasons adduced for the perennial crisis in the power sector. From alleged private investors’ lack of technical know-how and financial capacity to run the sector efficiently to the challenge of gas supply caused by vandals and consumers’ reluctance to pay their electricity bills, the sector has continued to gasp for breath.

The Nation learnt, for instance, that apart from the investment the Federal Government made in the sector prior to the privatisation, the investors have not made any significant investment in the growth and development of the power sector particularly in smart metering technology, upgrade of their networks and other power infrastructure.

Reliable industry sources told The Nation that the dearth of investment contributed to the incessant power outages and the regime of estimated bills that has continued to pitch consumers against the power firms.

The activities of vandals who compromise gas pipelines have also been identified as another challenge. The gas sub-sector produces the raw material for production of electricity. But because the sub-sector has not been privatised, the supply of gas to GenCos and by extension, the supply of power by DisCos remains a pain in the neck.

The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr. Joy Ogaji, said shortage of gas remained the bane of the power generation sub-sector. She, therefore, urged the government to improve on the provision of gas.

She also pointed out that levies, including the Federal Government’s imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) of 7.5 per cent on gas sold to GenCos were affecting the availability of the product in the sector.

A sector weighed down by debts

In fairness to DisCos, many Nigerians do not pay for electricity consumed. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has since been screaming blue murder over massive revenue shortfall running into billions of naira. It, therefore, urged all power consumers, including government agencies to pay up their debts.

The Association’s Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, has never stopped lamenting that the revenue shortfalls was adversely impacting on the ability of its members to make capital investment in metering, network expansion, equipment rehabilitation and replacement that are critical for service delivery improvement.

“This is a cash liquidity crisis that threatens to completely undermine the electricity value chain and its ability to continue to serve its consumers,” Oduntan said.

Paying more for less?

While Nigerians, particularly real sector operators, are agonizing over the failure of the privatisation exercise to guarantee steady electricity supply, alleged arbitrary and startling increases in tariff and other discomforting developments such as unwarranted disconnections by DisCos appear to rob salt to injury.

Already, the Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, has announced that the proposed electricity tariff increase by the Federal Government will kick off in July.

The NERC had in January announced an upward review of electricity tariff across the country from April 1, but the exercise was later suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, on Tuesday, June 16, the minister, while speaking at the investigative public hearing on the power sector recovery plan and the impact on COVID-19 pandemic at the Senate, said the subsidy incurred in order to maintain the current tariff level was unsustainable.

Listen to Mamman: “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected our laid-out plan for the repositioning of the electricity market towards financial sustainability under the power sector recovery programme (PSRP).

“Initially, the regulator, following the completion of public consultation on tariff review, planned on conducting a tariff review in April 2020. However, due to COVID-19 and customer apathy, the proposed tariff review was delayed by three months.

“The impact of this means the subsidy being incurred in maintaining the current tariff level had to be maintained until July 2020 when the proposed tariff review will be implemented.

“The current situation in the Nigerian power sector is that a lot of capital investment is being made, most of which is dependent on donor funding, loans and budgetary allocation. For projects that we have already secured their funding, we do not expect any adverse effect.”

Oduntan insists that the supply of electricity would improve as soon as there is increased revenue from the tariffs.

“While I understand the frustrations of Nigerians that they are not getting enough supply of electricity, it is pertinent to say that the poor funding of the sector, in recent times, caused the problem. For the sector to be efficiently run, the price of electricity must increase,” he said.

OPS disagrees

To members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), any upward review of electricity is not only unjustifiable and unacceptable, but tantamount to overkill.

This was why since the NERC released its March 31 “Order on the Transition to Cost Reflective Tariffs in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry,” which set the tone for the proposed tariff increase next month July, the OPS has been spoiling for war.

The OPS, particularly manufacturers, in a statement, insisted that an upward review of tariff will be counterproductive on consumption and productivity, adding that any form of increase in tariff in the face of inadequate electricity supply, high electricity tariff and exorbitant cost of self-generated electricity, will further spike the cost of doing business with consequential upward spiral effects on unemployment rate.

“Most worrisome is the fact that private sector operators, especially manufacturers bear the burden of commercial and technical losses through very high monthly electricity bill that is largely estimated,” they said.

The statement, which was made available to The Nation, said private operators are already plagued by high cost operating environment arising from poor regulatory environment, macroeconomic asymmetries and high cost of energy, adding that this was responsible for the oscillatory performance of the sector in the past few years.

That is not all. The private operators argued that the trajectory of continuous increase in electricity tariff without commensurate improvement in electricity generation, transmission and distribution is not sustainable and would have catastrophic impact on the real sector.

“The proposed increase in electricity tariff is coming also at a time that the NESI is pervaded with high level of inefficiency, low investment in strategic electricity infrastructure; majority of consumers are not metered and the billing system is still largely estimated,” they added.

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),  Mansur Ahmed, said modern industry competitiveness depends to a great extent on provision of adequate and efficient infrastructure especially electricity supply, adding that electricity is a vital input for manufacturing process to the extent that it constitutes up to 40 per cent of the cost of production.

Instead of contemplating an increase in electricity tariff, the OPS suggested that government, being a major stakeholder in the electricity industry, should concentrate on developing processes and polices to attract significant investment to encourage scale generation with improved transmission and distribution infrastructure in the industry.

Pressure for review of privatisation mounts

Apparently frustrated by the crisis in the NESI, members of the OPS said “Government should review the privatisation/unbundling of the electricity industry in the best interest of the over 200 million Nigerians.”

The United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC) has also weighed in on the matter, renewing its call for the review of the privatisation. It’s President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in a statement, said privatisation has encouraged rent-seeking in an economy that is already traumatized.

He added that it has also crippled the capacity of the commandeered utilities to deliver services critical for national development to the masses. “With power sector privatisation, electricity ceased to be social and became commercial,” Ajaero said.

Dr. Ikele also described the power sector privatisation as “a complete failure”.

As things stand, the Federal Government and Nigerians are caught between the rock and the hard place as far as the crisis in the power sector is concerned.

Reviewing or tinkering with the privatisation, according to experts, has legal implications, including the possibility of sending a wrong signal to existing and prospective investors.

Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi last Saturday became the seventh governor to test positive to the Coronavirus. ROBERT EGBE looks at how the circumstances surrounding the governors’ Coronavirus status.

Jesuit priest James Martin proposed a deep philosophical question in his March 22 New York Times article ‘Where is God in a pandemic?’

His answer was no less intriguing. “The honest answer is: We don’t know,” the cleric said.

Farther Martin was attempting to address the “panic, fear, anger, sadness, confusion and despair” that followed the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

He was speaking to Americans, but if his audience were Nigerians he would probably have received a different answer.

In a deeply religious country where names like Godstime, Godswill or even Godswish are not unheard of, Martin could have been upbraided for his ‘faithlessness’.

For instance, just before the article’s publication, Nigerians were also pondering a similar question. The virus had made landfall in Lagos on February 27, and there were doubts about the country’s preparedness to manage a potential health crisis.

But as of July 5, 28,167 COVID-19 positive cases had been confirmed, 11,462 cases discharged and 634 deaths recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Seven of the positive cases are governors. They are: Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El Rufai, Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.

UMAHI

Last Saturday, Umahi announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Umahi’s Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Francis Nwaze, confirmed the news and also revealed that some associates of the governor also tested positive.

He said the governor had not shown any symptoms of the disease, though he had isolated himself in line with the NCDC protocols.

“The governor has directed his Deputy, Dr Kelechi, to coordinate the state’s fight against the disease and appealed to the citizens to take the NCDC protocols seriously.

“He will currently be working from ‘home’ and will be conducting all meetings virtually,” Nwaze added.

So far, 438 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Ebonyi. The state has the 14th highest number of cases in the country.

AKEREDOLU

Akeredolu, last Tuesday, announced that he tested positive for the virus. He stated that he was asymptomatic and had been self-isolating, adding that irrespective of his COVID-19 status, work still continues.

From his self-isolation, Akeredolu on Friday appointed his Special Adviser on Health, Jibayo Adeyeye, as the state’s Acting Health Commissioner and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Adesegun Fatusi, as the new chairman of the State Inter-ministerial Committee Against Covid-19.

Both positions were held by the immediate past health commissioner, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, who died last Thursday of complications arising from Covid-19.

But the estranged Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi is insisting that Akeredolu should hand over to him within 21 days, failing which the constitution will be invoked.

Ajayi, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Comrade Allen Sowore, said Section 190(2) of the 1999 Constitution required Akeredolu to hand over to his deputy.

Responding to Ajayi’s call Akeredolu vowed that he would not entrust the state to “a threat to good governance in the state.”

So far, 410 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Ondo. The state has the 16th highest number of cases in the country with 20 deaths.

OKOWA

Okowa announced on his Facebook page last Wednesday that he and his wife Edith had tested positive for COVID-19.

“My wife and I have tested positive for COVID-19. We are well and continuing with our isolation/medication. We thank you all for your continued prayers for us and our daughter”, he wrote.

The governor had gone on June 27 gone into 14-day isolation with his family after one of his daughters tested positive for the virus.

Also, two top officials of the government tested positive to the virus recently.

So far, 1,227 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Delta. The state has the sixth highest number of cases in the country with 25 deaths.

IKPEAZU

Ikpeazu expressed the default Nigerian optimism and faith when he said COVID-19 would not afflict Abians, because the state was “mentioned in the Bible”.

Ikpeazu said: “Abia is the only state that is mentioned in the Bible. We have a promise from God that none of these diseases will touch God’s people. And I hold on to God’s promise.

“We saw Ebola, it did not get to us. We saw monkey pox, it didn’t get to us. Even this one (coronavirus) will also pass us by.”

Ikpeazu had every reason to be optimistic. As at March 30, there were only 111 confirmed cases of COVID19 reported in Nigeria with one death. Abia was coronavirus-free.

But on June 8, Ikpeazu joined thousands of other Nigerians infected with the virus. However, on July 4, it was announced that that he had tested negative.

Information Commissioner John Okiyi Kalu, in a two-paragraph statement, confirmed that the governor tested negative last Friday.

So far, 383 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Abia. The state has the 17th highest number of cases in the country with three deaths.

MOHAMMED

Mohammed was the state’s index case of COVID-19, following clinical tests carried out on him and his aides.

His Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mukhtar Gidado, announced this last March 24.

A fortnight later Mohammed said he had recovered. He expressed his joy on Twitter, writing: “Alhamdulillah. I just received the green light. My second test for #COVID19 returned negative.”

516 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Bauchi. The state has the 12th highest number of cases in the country with 12 deaths.

EL-RUFAI

El-Rufai recovered from COVID-19 — after nearly four weeks of treatment. The governor announced his recovery on Twitter on April 22.

The governor, who became bearded while in isolation, attended a virtual meeting chaired by his deputy, two days earlier.

855 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Kaduna. The state has the 9th highest number of cases in the country with 12 deaths.

MAKINDE

Makinde, last April 6, narrated that he had recovered from COVID-19 a week after he tested positive to the disease.

He is one of the three governors who tested positive the same week. Others were Mohammed and El-Rufai.

From isolation, he sent out messages of hope to Oyo State residents, assuring them that the state would pull through the COVID-19 scourge.

“I am known as a long-distance runner. If I can outrun and outlast the virus, which I am sure, by God’s grace, I will do, so also will many of our people in Oyo State,” he wrote in one of such messages.

1,466 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Oyo. The state has the 3rd highest number of cases in the country with 14 deaths.