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Tag: Babatunde Fashola

  • FEC okays N20.6 billion for road contracts

    FEC okays N20.6 billion for road contracts

    …Approves policy for technology acquisition

     

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N20.6 billion for road contracts in Plateau and Kwara states.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, briefed State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah and the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu.

    The two roads, he said, are N10.4 billion for the reconstruction of Pankshin-Balank-Yalen-Salak-Gindiri road in Plateau state and N10.2 billion for reconstruction of Sharre-Patigi road in Kwara state.

    He said “The ministry presented two memoranda to the council. The first was to with respect for approval to construct the Pankshin-Balank-Yalen-Salak-Gindiri road in Plateau state for N10.46billion.

    “The second one is the Sharre-Patigi road in Kwara for N10.2 billion; both prayers were approved by the council.

    “The other memorandum was in respect to inherited liabilities from the old power ministry where a judgment of N119 billion had been signed against the Federal Government as a result of acts of officials of government who varied the presidential approval without seeking further directive from him and then awarded the contract on that basis.

    “So the party who was the beneficiary of that contract which they subsequently sought to withdraw went to court and got a judgment,” he said.

    Onu said that the Council approved a policy to encourage technological advancement in Nigeria.

    The initiative, he said, will help Nigerian firms to produce what the country needs as it will boost foreign investment in Science, Technology and Engineering from where local content could be developed.

    Through the policy, he said that technology transfer will be facilitated with more taxes to be paid to government, and wealth creation for the country and people.

    “The Federal Executive Council in its deliberations approved a policy that will help us to change the direction that we have been taking as a nation, a direction that will be very useful in helping us to start looking inwards to produce the things that we need as against depending on other outside people to import our requirements.

    “Some of the highlights will involve for example where we have bulk purchases of major items that we are bringing into the country that those who normally would have supplied from outside the country will now come to Nigeria to establish their factories to produce in Nigeria.

    “By doing so they will offer job opportunities to our people, tax will be paid to government so wealth will be created but most importantly Nigeria will now acquire the necessary technology that will help us to build capacity.’’

    Onu said that FEC agreed that henceforth whoever wanted to practice any profession, in Engineering, Science and Technology, Medicine, Accountancy, Quantity Surveyors and others must be certified by appropriate professional bodies in Nigeria.

    He said the measure was very important in building the nation’s local capacity adding that there were so many areas that the fiscal policy had covered.

    According to him the aim is that in the next 10 years Nigerian firms shall be in a position to carry out very complex jobs, especially the ones that they do not currently have the expertise to do.

    He said the country would for now rely on foreign companies for such jobs but when they arrive they have to work with Nigerian firms who would understudy them from project conception to inauguration.

    The minister stated that it was the only way that the country could acquire the necessary technology to build our local capacity hoping that in 20 years Nigerian firms should be competing with the best in the world.

    He said FEC has accepted to declare a state of emergency on Science and Technology because the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 to 2020 recognised the cardinal place of science and technology in driving the recovery and growth plan.

    “We are not looking for transfer of technology because we know it would not happen; what we are looking for is acquisition of technology and we are interested in building our own capacity.

    “We are convinced that we can do this and we believe that with the new policy we will be in a position to acquire technology,’’ he stated.

    Onu noted that the country could train professionals using the foreign professionals adding that the Ministry of Interior would be involved to ensure creation of a new classification in the immigration policy in that regard.

    He also said that the ministry of foreign affairs would help the country to improve its free visa status ranking from the present 92 position.

    He described the position as very low as it allowed Nigerians to enter only 45 countries on free visa.

    He said this was a difficult journey but would take Nigeria to where it should be in the committee of nations.

    Onu added that the approval had not been done since the country became independent and added that in project design the country would insist that all the language would be in English rather than any other foreign language.

    He noted that with the movement of other nations toward solar and other means of technology outside oil the country should be preparing for a post-crude oil era.

    Enelamah said that FEC approved a memorandum that was presented to amend the list of pioneer industries and products that will enjoy pioneer status going
    forward.

    This, according to him, is line with the ease of doing business policy of government.

    He said “As many of you know the pioneer incentive scheme is governed by ye Industrial Development Income Tax Relief Act and the whole purpose is to give tax holidays to industries we consider pioneer. Pioneer doesn’t mean that they are new it only means that they are not yet mature, we want those industries to grow.

    “We want to attract investment in them and you will find that this covers a wide range of industries and those tax holidays ranges from 3-5years. The pioneer list was last reviewed by the Federal Executive Council in 2006, so you could see that this was long overdue.

    “On doing the review, special attention was paid to the ERGP to capture the current realities that will help to implement the plan to make sure we attract the kind of investment, industries and players that will help to implement and realize our objectives in the ERGP.

    “I should also point out that there was multi stakeholder engagement, private and public sector in arriving at the industries that will be included in the pioneer incentive scheme.

    “In terms of the recommendations approved by FEC today: we have tried to remove all ambiguities in the definition of industries by reclassifying industries according to the international standard in industrial classification which is the global standard which is also the standard that is used by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.

    “The other thing we also did is to agree that the pioneer list will be reviewed regularly every two years, biannually so that just that if things come up, we live in a fast changing world and we are being responsive to our world. In the case of additions to the list they will be effected immediately, for deletion of industries that we consider mature there will be a three year window that will be allowed for those that are already investing in that industry that were enjoying pioneer status to carry on till the end of that three year period.

    “Against this backdrop, we then approved 27 industries that were recommended for addition to the pioneer list today. We also recommended and it was accepted by the Council that mineral oil prospecting which is governed by the Petroleum Profit Tax should not be part of the pioneer industries list which is really industries governed by the Companies Income Tax Act.

    “It was also accepted that given the success we have achieved in cement which are now net exporters, maybe that is an industry which we could say that we are now where we want to be in terms of maturity even though there is still a lot of scope for the application and the use of cement and you know that will continue. We already have critical mass in cement.

    “The scheme will ensure that will not deprive us of revenue. It is an incentive to make people enter your market, new enter industries, invest more for people who are already here. It will increase our tax base over time,” he stated.

     

  • LAMATA transports over 60m passengers from 2015 to date, says CEO

    LAMATA transports over 60m passengers from 2015 to date, says CEO

    The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) says it transported more than 60 million intra-city passengers from 2015 and 2017.

    Mr Abiodun Dabiri, the Managing Director of LAMATA, said on Monday that the agency’s fleet of BRT buses facilitated the intra-city movement during the period.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BRT buses use exclusively interference-free segregated lanes to guarantee fast and reliable travel with high-quality bus shelters.

    The agency coordinates transport policies in the state and also oversees road and traffic management as well as the Lagos Rail Mass Transit and the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System.

    Former Gov. Bola Tinubu had on Jan. 13, 2002, signed the bill into law and modified by the LAMATA Act of 2007.

    Africa’s first bus rapid transit scheme began operations on.March 17, 2008 under the administration of ex-Gov. Babatunde Fashola (SAN).

    Apart from transporting people from Ikorodu through Mile 12 to Lagos Island to escape gridlock, Dabiri said the BRT system has also generated over 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs during the period under review.

    “As part of innovations to make public transport attractive to the upper echelon of the society,  they could drop their vehicles, use public transport ( air conditioned buses) and also reduce both congestion and emissions on the roads,” the LAMATA boss said in a statement signed by Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, Head of Media and Communications.

    He said the recognition of the contribution of LAMATA to public transportation would further spur the agency to deliver more projects that would be of benefits to the people.

    Dabiri said the ongoing BRT dedicated lane from Oshodi to Abule Egba on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway would  present another first-class transport infrastructure that would reduce travel time, cost and waiting time for public transportation.

    “LAMATA had introduced the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with an application, Lagos BRT app to assist commuters in planning their journeys and determine the arrival of buses at the various bus shelters.

    “Lagos BRT is infrastructure project of the year with immense benefits to the movement of more than 60 million passengers since its completion in 2015.

    “The 129 year old Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) recently awarded the Mile 12 to Ikorodu BRT project implemented by LAMATA the Infrastructure Project of the Year,” he added.

    The managing director assured that residents would soon begin to see changes being introduced by LAMATA in bringing transport infrastructure to all parts of the state.

    He said the BRT extension from Mile 12- Ikorodu Town was a median lane operation with restricted access to bus stations and pedestrian bridges and walkways.

    According to him, the Mile 12 to Ikorodu BRT is an upgraded version of the Mile 12 to CMS BRT system, which was designed to convey an estimated 300,000 passengers daily using 434 high capacity buses with an average of 10 minutes headway frequency.

    “The Mile 12 to Ikorodu Bus Rapid Transit “CLASSIC” System extension is conceived to compliment the already existing Mile 12 to CMS BRT system, which was the first in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    “The system provides a high quality, high capacity and low-cost public transportation system operating on specialised infrastructure with adequate incentives to offer affordable mobility, sustainable urban environment and better quality of life to urban population.”

    Dabiri said that infrastructure under the upgrade consists of additional 27 km of asphaltic lane for BRT operation, 54 km lane rehabilitation, provision of 18 bridges at nine different locations along the corridor with six pedestrian bridges.

    The LAMATA boss said that about 15 bus shelters, three terminals and a bus depot/maintenance yard with a modern office space for the bus system and its staff were also upgraded.

  • Fashola to intervene in alleged inflation of Gencos’ invoice

    Fashola to intervene in alleged inflation of Gencos’ invoice

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola will dig into the allegation that the Nigerian Electricity Bulk Trading (NBET) Plc was inflating electricity invoice in favour of the Electricity Generation Companies (Gencos), it was learned on Monday.

    According to the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generating Companies (APGC) Barrister Joy Ogaji, who revealed this in a statement on Monday, the allegation gives the impression that the power sector operators are uncontrollable.

    The statement came nearly a month after which The Nation broke the story of June 27 that the NBET was inflating electricity invoice in favour of the Gencos.

    She accused the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) being responsible for the rumour that the power producers under the watch of Fashola, were involved in sharp practices.

    She noted that the power producers, who are entitled to 60% of the invoiced energy bill that are facing an outstanding debt of N500 billion deserve pity instead of ridicule.

    Ogaji condemned the position of the DisCos on the removal of capacity charge, stressing that, there is nowhere in the world where power generating companies are paid only for energy.

    The statement reads: “Relative to the news trending in the sector that Gencos are fraudulent and are conniving with NBET to inflate their monthly invoices, we wish to state here that we are not aware of any such practice, although we hold no brief for NBET whom we expect should respond to this allegation as soon as possible.

    “We are not sure what could have led to this allegation but since it is been perpetrated by the DisCos, they should make public the evidential proof of this allegation immediately, as it is said in law “He who asserts must prove”.

    This allegation will be escalated to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, who as the leader of the sector is expected to intervene and deal with the issues as appropriate.

    “It is a fact that GenCos, who are entitled to about 60% of invoiced energy bills, face the greatest risk in the electricity value chain with an outstanding unpaid invoice of over five hundred billion (N500bn) naira deserve pity rather than ridicule. Trying to smear our image with such baseless and unfounded allegations is not only unfair but misleading to the Nigerian populace: giving the impression that the sector is not regulated, and that market participants can do as they please.

    “On the issue of calling for the removal of capacity charge from GenCos payments, we want to put on record that this call has been borne out of sheer ignorance of how the electricity market works. There is no place in the World where a generation company is paid only on energy. Projects will have to be privately financed, supported by non-recourse or limited recourse loans, with long-term agreements financed by the Electricity Market.

    “Capacity payment is needed in order to guarantee energy supplies and to keep the prices as low as possible. Without a capacity payment system, new investments in power plants will come to a standstill. It incentivises the Gencos to make capacity available when it is needed most.

    “Amongst other things, the MYTO is based on benchmarks on projections of the available capacity of energy to be sold in the market; the cost of gas and other feedstock; and the prediction of inflation and foreign exchange. The MYTO tariff methodology was developed in consultation with industry stakeholders, labour groups and consumer groups.

    “MYTO is supposed to provide a correct pricing of electricity, taking into consideration the key principles of cost reflectivity, affordability of electricity tariffs, and incentives for efficient operations. The MYTO methodology sets tariffs for the key electricity sectors players, namely – Generation, Transmission and Distribution, based on certain key assumptions and inputs.

    “Generation companies are paid based on their negotiated Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and hence are not unilaterally determined. All negotiated PPAs are approved by NERC after ensuring that such cost is prudently incurred before it is sent to NBET to make payments.

    “We make bold to state here that, contrary to the allegation by the DisCos of inflated GenCo invoices in cahoots with NBET, no sector participant has any overriding powers to negotiate inflated invoice payments.

    “We also expect that only adequately researched and verified information be published by players in the sector and not a propagandist and misleading information which we believe are distractive tactics. GenCos take exception to being used as a weapon for such dirty politics.”

  • AEDC to distribute more power with new transmission station

    AEDC to distribute more power with new transmission station

    With the commissioning of the Kukuaba Transmission Station, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) on Tuesday said that it is now reinforced and better positioned to serve its customers better.

    Speaking at the ceremony in Abuja, where the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Engr. Louis Edozien, the Managing Director of AEDC, Engr. Ernest Mupwaya explained that the company can now distribute power directly to Lugbe and its environs. 

    This, according to him, is that the line from where the consumers are now getting their power is nearby. 

    “Those who are being served from Katampe in Gwarimpa, Life Camp, Mabuchi, Maitama, Wuse II, Jahi and others will also enjoy improved supply. This is so because it has now been freed of the power it was releasing to Lugbe. In the long time, we will have the capacity to take more electricity,” he said.

    According to him, the firm has reinforced 4,048 sub-stations in its network through maintenance services while surveying the protection system of 68 others.

    Speaking earlier at the opening session of the 17th Power Sector Meeting in Abuja, he said the reinforcement was to boost power supply and enhance health and safety in its operational environment.

    The AEDC boss noted the improvement in the power sector saying, “the usual discussions in the past about power deficit is gradually giving way to discussions about increased power not being utilised. This is further supported by the rate at which incremental generation is being commissioned in the industry.”

    He noted that commissioning the 132/33Kva Kukuaba transmission sub-station by the federal government shortly after the meeting would boost power supply directly in Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    “The majority of customers in Abuja City such as Maitama, Wuse II, Gwarinpa and Mpape will also benefit from improved supply because of the freed capacity in the Katampe transmission substation,” Mupwaya added.

    Reeling out other achievements of the Distribution Company (DisCo) since it was privatised in 2013, he said: “We have completed Large Power Users (LPU) metering of 3,885 customers by February 2017; flagged off metering of Small Power Users (SPU) in December 2016 and close to 90,000 are metered so far.”

    AEDC said it has improved the organisational design, corporate governance and compliance, and improved training for its personnel.

    The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Engr. Louis Edozien who chaired the meeting said the ministry has rolled out policy directives to address the limitation of 33Kv and 11Kv distribution infrastructures across the DisCos to solve the issues of power underutilisation often tagged as load rejection.

    Edozien urged the DisCos not to feel threatened by the recent ‘Eligible Customer’ pronouncement that will allow certain customers to buy power directly from the Generation Companies (GenCos). He said the declaration will strengthen their services and improve revenue base to tackle the liquidity crisis in the sector.

    He also revealed that the Market Operator and the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) are in the process of restructuring the bulk energy debts owed by DisCos to help them raise financing while improving their services to customers.

  • I’m not fighting lawmakers – Fashola

    I’m not fighting lawmakers – Fashola

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday said that his face-off with the National Assembly is to get better results for the country.

    Fashola spoke with State House correspondents at the venue of the Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    He said that he was not fighting the lawmakers but only had disagreement with them.

    Stressing that he has many friends among the lawmakers, he said that that would not stop the right thing from being done.

    Fashola said “There is no problem between me as an individual and the National Assembly. And let me make that very clear, many of the senators and honourable members are my personal friends, and so you don’t fight your friends.

    “But we have a disagreement. And the context of that disagreement. You will remember when President Muhammadu Buhari launched the economic recovery and growth plan; he had enormous support from the leadership of the National Assembly. So it means that we all agree there is a problem.

    “There is also disagreement which I don’t think should make us disagreeable about the best way to implement that plan and I think that is all there is to it.

    “It is perhaps possible that in the heat of the moment while trying to canvass different positions we are misconstrued as fighting but I am not fighting anybody. We have a disagreement it shouldn’t make us disagreeable.

    “So my responsibility is to continue to engage. Also even if I wasn’t a minister, I am a citizen also so the parliamentarians are also representing me. So these are the issues and if I have been misunderstood my intention was not to quarrel with anybody but to see a better Nigerian which I believe they also want to see.” he said

    On the belief that the feud may delay the presentation of budget virement and the 2018 budget to the National Assembly, Fashola said “Again I say the words that we use portends potentially redirects our attention from what the real issue is. I don’t think a feud is the right word to use. A disagreement yes, a very healthy disagreement.

    “Don’t forget we are not disagreeing on who should head what, who should take what share of the National cake but we are disagreeing on how to develop Nigeria. And for me that is a very healthy development of our democracy.

    “I’m sure with the leadership of the National Assembly- Senate President, speaker of the House of Representatives, the principal officers and the Acting President, we will resolve this in the ultimate interest of the Nigerian people.” he said

    Speaking on what his Ministry has been able to do concerning the power situation in Nigeria, he said “Well  is an ongoing undertaking. As I have said our road map is incremental power first and stable power and then uninterrupted power and that’s a journey. But we are focusing on incremental power.

    “Just yesterday as one of our incremental power initiatives, we commissioned the Kukoba power substation to increase light to Abuja by another 120 megawatt carrying capacity. So it involves not only transmission but also involves generation work, distribution work, enabling the distribution companies perform better, enabling.

    “The GENCOs perform better and doing our own responsibility which is transmission.
    So is an ongoing undertaking. As I said you must measure what we have done from where we started. on May 29,2015, the power on the grid was 2,690 megawatts and we kept it now at relatively at about 4,000. With that it’s going to be the minimum except for occasions where we have mechanical and electrical outages and we fix them back.

    “Everyone knows that mechanical devices from time to time sometimes they breakdown, sometimes they don’t work, sometimes you need to maintain and fix them.” he said

    He said that the private sector has always been in any economy with a capital disposition, being the driver of growth, the driver of development and ultimately government must interface with the private sector the way we are going at this presidential quarterly business forum to hear from them where the shoes pinches most, where we can make it easier, where we can make it better, how we can do so.”

    According to him, it is only by understanding problems that quality solutions can be offered.

    The quality solutions, he said, will include executive actions, sometimes legislative actions, sometimes judicial interventions.

    “As I have announced today  as a mixture of government’s policy options to help private sector do its best. Our focus has been on ease of doing business, enabling the private sector be the best they can to compete and be efficient locally and globally,” he stated.

     

  • TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will complete over 200 projects to improve power supply to the distribution companies (DISCOs), Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said on Wednesday.

    Fashola made this known in a keynote address at the Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF) in Lagos, entitled: “Roadmap for Incremental, Stable and Uninterrupted Electricity Supply in Nigeria’’.

    He was represented by Mr Louis Edozie, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power.

    According to him, currently, TCN is concentrating on completing over 200 projects it has at hand to ensure smooth transmission of energy to the national grid.

    “Electricity is a very topical subject in the country; lack of it affects production, security, comfort and standard of education.

    “If all of us will draw all energy needs from the grid, we will need over 13,000 Megawatts (MW), but unfortunately, the maximum we have from the grid is just 4,700MW.

    “This is not what we want and this is not where we want to be.

    “The government inherited a very weak transmission; throughout 2016, there was a challenge of energy evacuation in Eastern part of the country.

    “This evacuation problem which had been on for over 15 years in Calabar, Ikot-Ekpene, Alaoji, Ugwuaji Transmission Line had been addressed and the transmission is now in operation,’’ Fashola said.

    He said that the transmission line would aid the smooth evacuation of energy generated by power plants in the Eastern part to the national grid.

    Fashola said that the Federal Government was concentrating on legacy generation projects inherited from the past administration.

    He said that such project include the small, but important 1.2 MW Solar Power Plant in Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari, Abuja, which is the first solar project in the country.

    The minister said that the project was now in operation, powering some parts of Abuja metropolis.

    “The 10MW Wind Dam in Kastina, which has been under construction for many years, will soon be completed and commissioned for operation.

    “The 30MW Phase 1 project at Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna, which had been abandoned, will also be commissioned next year and this will boost supply to Kaduna and Jebba.

    “The work is ongoing to ensure smooth transmission line of the energy to the grid.

    “Also, the 700 MW Zungeru Hydro Electric Power Plant, which had been abandoned several years back, will be completed by early 2019 and connected to the grid,’’ Fashola said.

    The minister said that work had begun on the 3,050MW Hydro Electric Power Plant in Mambilla, Taraba which was conceived about 42 years ago.

    “It is through the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration that the project was redesigned.

    “The project will be delivered in 2024,’’ he said.

    Also, Prof. Jidere Bala, the Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), said that energy worldwide was one of the drivers of economic and social development.

    Bala said that there was no way poverty could be eliminated without reliable energy supply.

    According to him, energy supply must, however, be done in a responsible and sustainable manner.

    “These involve energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, Mr Dele Ayodele, the Deputy Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), said that some of the challenges facing the power sector include technical and commercial losses.

    Ayodele said that technical and commercial losses were core issues that bedeviled the sector from performing its responsibility to consumers.

    He said that if the issues were not resolved, it would continue to linger on.

    In his address, the Chairman of NEF, Dr Daniel Adeuyi, said that the forum would enable the participants to exchange knowledge, build capacity and foster innovation in Nigeria’s energy supply industry.

    Adeuyi said no nation could develop in the dark, adding that sustainable energy was the passport to economic development.

    “Across Africa, the key energy challenge is how to electrify millions of households, remote communities and small-scale entrepreneurs as quick as possible,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that theme of the forum is: “Sustainable Energy for Economic Development’’.

  • 2017 budget: Reps blast Fashola for peddling inaccuracies

    2017 budget: Reps blast Fashola for peddling inaccuracies

    The House of Representatives has described the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola’s recent remarks on the 2017 Appropriation Act as an attempt to blackmail the National Assembly.

    The lawmakers, in a statement on Saturday said the Minister’s  remarks amounted to peddling inaccuracies, misleading and calculated mischief aimed at setting the National Assembly on a collision course with the executive.

    House Spokesman, Abdulrazaq Namdas said Fashola’s remarks were meant to paint the National Assembly as an irresponsible institution, one not concerned with the welfare of the people, and set the Executive and Legislature on an unnecessary collision course on matters of power rather than issues that benefit the Nigerian people.

    Saying that the National Assembly has constitutional powers in Section, 4, 59, 80 and 81 to amend the budget estimates submitted by the Executive, Namdas insisted that the National Assembly was not expected to rubber stamp the budget document as presented by the executive as clearly explained by a recent court pronouncement on the powers of appropriation.

    According to him,  the National Assembly has not done anything outside what was prescribed by constitution concerning the budget, adding that the Minister was economical with the truth over allocations to Lagos-Ibadan expressway, second Nige bridge and several projects where monies were moved from and injected in others.

    It reads: “Responding to specific issues raised by Mr Fashola, Namdas explained that the decision to redistribute the projects proposed by the ministry was in order to ensure an even spread of projects across all regions, which the proposal of the executive had failed to do.

    “He added that considering that the funds that were allocated for the 2nd Niger Bridge in 2016 were returned untouched at the end of the year, the National Assembly decided to reduce N5 billion from the 2017 Budget for 2nd Niger Bridge to fund other projects from the South East, leaving N7 billion for the 2nd Niger Bridge.

    “The truth is that in the 2016 Budget, N12 billion was appropriated for the 2nd Niger Bridge and not a kobo was spent by the Ministry. Not a kobo. The money was returned. The Ministry could not provide the Committees of the National Assembly with evidence of an agreement on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) or a contract for the 2nd Niger Bridge.

    “The projects include – N2.5 billion extra for Enugu/Onitsha Road, N1 billion more for 9th Mile/Nsukka/Makurdi Road; additional N500m for Oturkpa- Makurdi to take care of evacuation of agricultural produce up to Maiduguri; N1 billion more for Ikot Ekpene-Aba-Owerri Road etc. These are strategic Roads in the South-East and North Central parts of Nigeria that had inadequate allocations,” he explained.

    “Going further, he added that the National Assembly had to intervene to fund some other critical roads that were totally neglected in the Executive Budget proposal, including the Abuja- Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Road that had Zero allocation from the President’s proposal and no contract, even in spite of due process certification.

    “N5 billion was provided in the 2016 Budget. It was not utilised. In 2017 Budget, the National Assembly again provided N3 billion for this very critical road that connects many states and where incidents of kidnapping are rife because of bad roads, as we believe that all parts of Nigeria deserve attention or would the Minister also claim that this road has no design?” he queried.

    “On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the lawmaker noted that leadership meetings of both the Executive and Legislature were held where it was clarified that alternative funding exists for the road through PPP arrangement and the concessionaires had enough money to fund the project, hence the decision to move some funds to other areas of need.

    “The Minister of Power, Works and Housing is fully aware of this but chose to ignore it. Why spend government money if there is a clear existing funding framework in place and so many ongoing road projects are unfunded?” Namdas asked, adding that the Minister proposed a whopping N17 Billion for only Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)  for Mambila Power plant which the National Assembly felt was misplaced and patently unjustifiable and out of which the Minister himself even wrote to the National Assembly to move some funds from this sub-heads to others.”

    “He urged the Minister to be mindful of the fact that the Budget of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing is not his personal budget but that of the Federation.

    “The National Assembly and others are also stakeholders in this country, imbued with patriotism to fix Nigeria’s problems. There are certain matters which the National Assembly Committees discover during oversight activities that are corrected during the budget process.

    “There are so many omissions which the National Assembly makes effort to correct on behalf of Nigerians. Even the Ministries also disown allocations contained in their budgets! Should the National Assembly keep quiet and moot and allow infractions patently exposed in the Executive proposals? We think that the Constitution did not design the National Assembly as a “rubber stamp” as eloquently stated by His Excellency Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker, House of Representatives, ” the spokesman declared.

    “Namdas said the legislature also queried an omnibus allocation of N20 Billion in the ministry’s budget whose details were not provided by the Minister and felt it would be irresponsible to appropriate funds that are not tied to specific projects and incurred the wrath of the “almighty Minister.”

    “The legislators further noted that when an increment made in the budget favours the executive, it does not complain, as seen in the MTEF which had a $2 increase per barrel that was not part of the 2017 Appropriation Bill proposed by Mr. President.

    “Addressing claims by Fashola that certain matters are State or even Local Government matters, the lawmakers challenged him to lead efforts to abolish the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, a federal government agency, if he feels it should not be covered by the national budget.

    “As a Senior Lawyer, he should be aware of what is called CONCURENT LIST, and the provisions of S.4(4)(a) and S.4(5) of the Constitution,” the House said, while urging him to familiarise himself with the duties his ministry is saddled with like providing water in Housing Estates so he will not be surprised to see such projects under his Ministry.

    “Namdas also added that it was a clear breach for the executive to make calculated statements to undermine and distort understandings between the National Assembly leadership and the Executive arm on the 2017 Budget which were made in good faith when all arms should be concentrating on how to grow the economy to exit the recession, which  the House of Representatives is committed to doing”.

  • Dangote, Govt, Flour Mills sign MOU on repair of Apapa Wharf Road

    Dangote, Govt, Flour Mills sign MOU on repair of Apapa Wharf Road

    …as FG hands over Apapa Wharf road to Dangote, FMN

    Succor will soon come to users of Apapa Wharf road as Federal government handed over the troubled road to Dangote Industries Limited and Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) for immediate reconstruction with concrete overlay.

    After the nation and port users have lost several billions of Naira on the dilapidated road, thenFederal government at the weekend in Lagos signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the two companies to repair the road. The construction of the road will be handled by AGDangote, a subsidiary of Dangote industries limited.

    Dangote Group and FMN are funding the project valued at N4.3 billion. AGDangote is handling the construction of the road. They have constructed concrete roads in Ibese, Ogun State and currently working on roads in Obajana.

    Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony held at the Conference Hall of Area B Command of the Nigeria Police, Apapa, Honorary Adviser to the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Engineer Joseph Makoju said the Group is moved by the deplorable state of the road which informed the need to look for like-thinking partners to effect repairs and salvage the road.

    According to him, the deplorable state of the road has impacted negatively on businesses, activities and lives of people within the locality. He explained that the state of the road crippled economic activities as people spend whole days in traffic losing precious work hours

    Makoju opined that the two kilometer road to the gate of Apapa is vital to the nation’s economy and described it as the national economy’s artery.

    He commended the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, who he said put in extra efforts to ensure the handing over of the road for reconstruction as the project has been on ground for over a year. The new road, he said will be concrete based in contrast to laterite base and has a life span of between 30 years to 50 years.

    He described the road reconstruction as a higher form of corporate social responsibility as Dangote Group is not asking for tax rebates. According to him, businesses need to engage with host communities through corporate social responsibility projects to ensure sustainability.

    He said, “here at Dangote, we have built houses, new towns, hospitals, schools, roads, markets and awarded scholarships in the communities where we have our operations but this is a higher form of corporate social responsibility. This project is a higher form of intervention on a national level, intervening in provision of critical infrastructure.”

    However, he tasked government to do more in terms of providing a conducive and enabling business environment for businesses to thrive stressing that If the environment is conducive and right, businesses will thrive and do more in terms of interventions in national infrastructure.

    Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola in his remarks at the event said, “We are here to embark on what will be the final solution to a massive inconvenience business and people in Apapa suffered over the years. Apapa is the nation’s first industrial base and was served by a good rail system. Cargo and containers were moved by rail to all parts of the country. The road network was for transport of passengers. The roads were good.

    However, we allowed the rails to collapse and choose road for evacuation of containers and cargo. But we are working to stop all these. The minister of transport is taking steps to revive the rails and evacuation of cargo and containers from the ports.”

    He disclosed that for several years government adopted palliative measures towards the road while waiting for a final solution and especially thanked Dangote Group and Flour Mills for coming take over the road for repairs. He said, “we must thank Dangote Group and Flour mills for coming to our aid via providing the funding for the repairs. The repairs estimated for a duration of one year is valued at N4.3 billion.”

    Explaining why it took government some time before handing over the road for repairs, he said, “The delays in handing over the road for reconstruction was because of the need to put final touches to the road design. Apapa has high water table and any road built here must have proper drainages otherwise it will be experiencing constant flooding.”

    He added, “We have done the survey and prepared the bill of quantity. The two kilometer road which will be based on concrete is estimated at N4.3 billion. A concrete base instead of laterite is chosen. Concrete base has a lifespan of between 30 to 50 years and in many developed countries, concrete base is used presently for roads. AG Dangote, a subsidiary of Dangote Group is chosen as the contractor. The construction and funding will be on corporate social responsibilities bases as they will not be seeking for tax reliefs.”

    Fashola called on all stakeholders to corporate with the constructing company and traffic controllers because there would be distortions and road diversions. All road users should exercise patience because it will get better, he said.

  • Dangote Group, others to fund reconstruction of Apapa-Wharf road

    Dangote Group, others to fund reconstruction of Apapa-Wharf road

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola on Saturday signed a N4.34 Billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dangote Group and other stakeholders for the reconstruction of Apapa Wharf Road.
    The project is to be funded by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, an arm of the Dangote Group, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the site was handed over to the stakeholders for commencement of reconstruction works after the agreement was signed in Lagos.
    Fashola explained that the gridlock in Apapa became compounded and had reached an unbearable level as transporters ignored the old system of moving cargo through rail to trucks and containers.
    He said that the choice of the transporters to use road instead of rail for haulage increased gridlock, caused degeneration as well as well as hardship to residents of Apapa.
    The minister commended the “leadership role’’ of the stakeholders to solve the complex problems in Apapa and its environs.

    According to him, the situation has caused stress to residents, business owners and other stakeholders in the state.
    “As a result of all these unsavory practices, we have reached a point of near total gridlock, it is difficult to move cargo in or out, difficult for residents to get home and this must stop,’’ he said.
    Fashola said that it took time to reach an agreement on the project because the stakeholders were putting up an effective design that would address the drainage problem because the area was water logged.
    “We have finished with the design, we now have a Bill of Quantity and the cost of the road is N4.34 billion to be funded and paid for by these three groups, Flour Mills of Nigeria, AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd and NPA,’’ he said.
    The minister said that although the parties were funding the project, the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing would supervise it through all the stages to ensure quality and compliance with standards.
    Fashola sought for the cooperation of all residents of Lagos and directed the Apapa Area Commander of the Nigerian Police Force, to apprehend reckless drivers who drive against traffic during the period of construction.
    He also appealed to the DPO to tackle all bureaucracies that would affect free flow of traffic while apprehending offenders.
    Fashola also appealed for synergy among law enforcement and traffic regulatory agencies for better traffic management to reduce stress on road users during the one-year duration of the project.
    The Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Mr Paul Gbededo said that Wharf Road was the “most important road in the entire country’’ which needed more attention.
    “This kind of road cannot be handled with levity,’’ he said.
    Responding to issues of lack of holding bays raised by transport unions, the Managing Director of NPA, Ms. Hadiza Usman said that government would support the private sector to drive the initiative to set up new ones.
    “We have received proposals on electronic management of holding bays, we are working through processes and we would soon conclude on that,’’ she said.
    She said that tank farms that do not have holding bays for their trucks would soon be sanctioned.
    Usman said that the NPA was also working on providing weigh bridges within the ports as well as enforce implementation in a few months to take care of problem of high axle load on the roads.
    Mr Joseph Makonjuola, the Honorary Adviser to Dangote Group of Companies assured that the company would contribute its funding as part of its corporate Social responsibility and would still meet its tax obligations to government.
    In his remarks, the Managing Director of AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, Mr Ashif Juma, while giving a brief of the two-kilometer road project said that rigid pavement would be used on the road.

    He also assured that high quality materials that would withstand stress would be used.
    Representatives of truck owners, transport unions, maritime operators, business owners in Apapa were among stakeholders present at the ceremony. (NAN)

  • Fashola wants FG to extend ‘whistle-blowing’ policy to power sector

    Fashola wants FG to extend ‘whistle-blowing’ policy to power sector

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called on the Federal Government to extend its ‘whistleblowing’ policy to the power sector to curb energy theft.

    Fashola made the appeal in Enugu at the 16th Power sector monthly meeting, sponsored by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.

    He said that available statistics revealed huge energy theft by Nigerians, adding that the problem had become a big challenge for not just the power distribution companies, but consumers as well.

    According to him, if nothing is done, those who pay for energy consumption will continue to bear the overall cost.

    The minister said that statistics revealed that only six million households consumed energy in the country, adding “if this is correct, it means that some people steal energy in the country, while only a few pay.

    “The statistics cannot be correct and it is therefore necessary to extend whistleblowing to the power sector in order to expose those stealing our energy,” he said.

    Fashola said that when all households who used energy were not captured, the ones captured were bound to pay more tariffs.

    He called on Nigerians to be vigilant and report those who stole energy in their neighbourhood to law enforcement agencies.

    He said that government was not pleased with most power distribution companies, whom he said, were far from attaining the mandate given to them since the privatisation of the sector.

    The minister direct the distribution companies to call their staff to order, saying “they are giving their customers hard times through indiscriminate disconnections.

    He said that efforts to improve power supply across the country were on course, adding that more megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid before the end of the year.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting ended with a communiqué urging members of the public to discharge their responsibilities of paying for energy costs.

    The communiqué also appealed to state government to appoint energy advisers to ensure understanding of the power sector, before formulating policies.

    It also reiterated that the Power Sector Recovery Programme was developed to address the importance of unity and common purpose in making significant impact in the sector.

    It stated that progress on incremental power was being made, and that the damaged transformers at Afam IV Power Station had been repaired and gas supply would start soon to provide additional 100mw of power.

    NAN reports that officials of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Council, representatives of power generating and distribution companies and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, as well as other stakeholders, were in attendance.