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Tag: Babatunde Fashola

  • Apapa-Wharf Road reconstruction only 10% completed

    Apapa-Wharf Road reconstruction only 10% completed

    The Apapa-Wharf Road reconstruction in Lagos State has achieved only 10 per cent completion, an official of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing ( FMPWH ), has said.

    Mrs Olukorede Keisha, an FMPWH engineer supervising the project, said on Tuesday at the project site that presence of gas pipes and other public utilities in the road’s Right of Way ( RoW ) delayed the project execution.

    The engineer said that the contractors handling the project had, however, resolved the problem.

    Keisha said that 200 metres of concrete road and 230 metres of drains had been constructed on section one of the project.

    “The project is about 10 per cent completed; we finished 230 metres of drain and 200 metres of concrete road on section one.

    “We have about four layers of road to make the pavement rigid; the road thickness is 600mm,’’ she said.

    She said that the project had four sections.

    Keisha told NAN that a design alteration was done to take care of the gas pipelines in the RoW of the road so as to meet the completion date of June 2018.

    “There is no need to relocate the pipelines again; the pipes are encased. We had to redesign in order to safeguard the pipes for work to continue.

    “It is a shift in alignment, we shifted it forward,’’ she said.

    She said that the redesign gave the opportunity for deep excavation to lay a solid foundation for a durable concrete road.

    On potholes on some portions of the highway, Keisha said that rehabilitation work had begun on the bad portions.

    According to Keisha, the ministry will use the Christmas holiday to take care of the most critical portions on the reconstruction zone and other roads in Apapa.

    NAN reports that some rolling machines were being used to compact construction materials on about 500 metres stretch of the road on the Ijora/CMS Carriageway.

    The machines were compacting soil-based materials to connect to a concrete section of the road.

    Read Also: Contractors handling Sukuk road projects to be paid soon-DMO

    Meanwhile, some of the road users have appealed for speedy completion of the project.

    A food vendor, Mrs Kaka Kolo, appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding for road repair in Apapa.

    “Trailers are the ones spoiling the road always. The best thing is for government to give contractors more money to repair roads.

    “Government should not wait for potholes to get big and trailers start falling before it does something,’’ she said.

    Also, Mallam Awal Usman, a truck driver, called for repair of all bad roads on the axis.

    He urged collaboration of all government agencies to end gridlock in Apapa.

    Usman, however, praised traffic managers for checking traffic offences compounding gridlock on the axis.

    Another truck driver, Mr Odu Nwoye, told NAN that the efforts of traffic managers had reduced accidents caused by bad roads and reckless driving on the axis.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on June 17 signed a N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding  ( MoU ) with AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd. and some other stakeholders for the reconstruction of the four-kilometre Apapa-Wharf Road.

    The project is being funded by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, the Nigerian Ports Authority ( NPA ) and Flour Mills of Nigeria.

  • Bello lauds FG over Geregu power plant

    Bello lauds FG over Geregu power plant

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has commended the Federal Government and other stakeholders for the completion of three turbines power generation at Geregu Power Plant in the state.

    Bello gave the commendation at the 22nd Power Sector Monthly Meeting with power stakeholders and other participants held at Geregu Power Plc, Ajaokuta on Monday.

    The governor expressed his appreciation to the Minister of  Power, Works and Housing, the President and the Vice President for the good job they had been doing in the power sector.

    “Today, we are glad that there is a relative improvement in the power generation and transmission across Nigeria, especially in Kogi.

    “The Federal Government has virtually solved all the power problems but we need a little patience to identify the communities which do not have electricity in Kogi to install the required transformers.

    “I want to encourage investors to make enough investment in power distribution so that various communities at the grassroots in Kogi and Nigeria at large can begin to enjoy the benefits.

    “When we assumed office, we met a dispute regarding Kabba Power Transmission substation, but we immediately waded in and resolved the issues for the work to be completed.”

    The governor said that the state government had made efforts to reduce cases of reported and unreported kidnapping and armed robbery cases in the state.

    “Without adequate security, the power plant here will not be safe and we will not be talking about generation, transmission or distribution.

    “We have been supporting and equipping our security agencies to ensure that the contractors and their workers working on the roads are safe and secure,” he said.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola said that the power production had reached an all-time high of over 7,000 megawatts in the nation.

    According to him, the ministry in collaboration with all the stakeholders has created a safe and more conducive environment to gain the confidence of investors in the power sector.

    “On December 8, we reached an all-time power production of 7,000 and a great peak supply of 5,155 Megawatts, which Nigeria has never produced or generated that much power into the grid.

    Read also: We are expecting additional 1,129 MW in 2018 – Fashola

    “The last supply was 5074 MW in January 2016, after which we went into a season of disruption of gas supply by militants.

    “It means that our policies and programmes are working, and we are also now able to evacuate substantially all of that power by transmission,” he said.

    Fashola expressed his gratitude to the government for paying the compensation that was militating against the development of the Kabba Transmission Sub-station.

    Mr Adeyemi Adenuga, the Managing Director, Generation, Geregu Power Plant, said that the plant was handed over to private company on Oct. 1, 2013.

    Adenuga said that the new owners had invested about 94 million dollars into the plant to bring it the present state.

    “Right now, we can successfully run three units (turbines) comfortably, effectively and efficiently. So, we hope that from this meeting, we will get the needed loads for our machine,” Adenuga said.

    Mr Otayitie Eminefo, the Special Adviser on Energy and Power to the governor, applauded the minister and stakeholders for their visit to the state.

    He appealed to stakeholders to give priority to electrification projects in the state.

    NAN

  • We are expecting additional 1,129 MW in 2018 – Fashola

    We are expecting additional 1,129 MW in 2018 – Fashola

    The Federal Government on Monday announced that when some power generation projects were completed by 2018, they could generate additional 1,129 Mega Watts to the current 7,000 Mega Watts in the country, the Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola revealed.

    The Minster said this at the 22nd monthly meeting of stakeholders in the power sector at Geregu, Kogi.

    Fashola said “the Azura power plant will give us another 450MW; I know that we will also get 10MW of wind power from Katsina State.

    “I know that we will get 115MW from Gbari and 30MW from Kashimbila.

    “From Afam III, we will give 240MW of power in 2018, while Gurara is working to deliver 30MW, as Dadinkowa in Gombe will provide 29MM and Kaduna will generate 215 MW.

    “All these power plants do not involve the mini grids and solar systems that are coming.”

    The minister explained that in spite of the attainment of the current 7,000MW in the country, 2,000MW of the total power was not being distributed to Nigerians.

    He said it was important to devise means of taking the unutilised 2,000MW to Nigerians who needed power, noting that “we cannot afford to keep power; that is not good for business, especially those who invested in it.

    “One of the steps we are taking with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company ( NDPH ) is to try and complete some of the distribution projects under the Nigerian National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) projects.

    “In Kogi, the distribution project that will affect the people positively are the ones in Okene, Igba, which will be completed in the first quarter of 2018.”

    Fashola said the narrative must change from not enough power to how unutilised power could be distributed.

    He explained that he had contacted the President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to discuss how its members could key into the undistributed power.

    Read also: Why I believe power sector ’ll be fixed, by Fashola

    He added that “Director Generator, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and other chambers of commerce had been contacted on how to take up the 2000 unused megawatts

    “We are also working on how Distribution Companies (Discos) could benefit from the entire process.”

    The minister, who said the sector had made progress on power Generation and Transmission, added that Distribution issues would also be cleared soon.

    He attributed the success recorded in the sector so far to government polices, “especially the provision of N701 billion assurance guarantee fund that enabled the payment to gas suppliers by Generating Companies (Gencos).

    “The assurance guarantee brought confidence to power production business, which resulted to increased power production which took us to all-time high of 7,000MW power availability.”

    “As at Dec. 5, 2017, power supply stood at 5,019MW, which was below the 5,074MW achieved in January 2016.

    “However, grid supplied power peaked at all-time high of 5,155MW on December 8, an increase over the January 2016 figure of 5,074 MW.”

    He said the success was due to teamwork and leadership provided by President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbanjo and other stakeholders.

    He then urged stakeholders to join hands in solving the problems in the sector, saying it was a privilege to be involved in salvaging the challenges in the sector.

    The Managing Director of Geregu Power Plant PLC, Mr Aderemi Adenuga, said owners of the company injected 94 million Dollars to overhaul and upgrade the plant.

    He said the company was comfortably running the tree turbines in the plant and thanked Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) for payment of the electricity generated to the company.

    NAN

  • Yuletide: FG warns security agencies against traffic law violations

    Yuletide: FG warns security agencies against traffic law violations

    The Federal Government on Tuesday says it will not tolerate traffic law violations by convoy drivers, military personnel and law enforcement agents during and after the Yuletides.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, gave the warning at a capacity building workshop in Abuja.

    The workshop was on the United Nations Road Safety Legal Instruments on Traffic Signs and Regulations.

    Mustapha said as government played its role to ensure safety of lives and property, all road users must obey traffic rules and regulations regardless of their status.

    “Let me further warn that while the Federal Road Safety Corps will continue to act in line with the rule of law, government will not tolerate any one running officials of the Corps down in the exercise of their duties.

    “Government drivers, especially those that drive us around, convoy drivers, must not disrupt flow of traffic or act in contra-distinction to traffic officers’ directives.

    “Let me also admonish the military and all law enforcement agencies to cooperate with the FRSC throughout the end-of-year operations and beyond.

    “The safety of and security of this great nation rests on your collective shoulders, hence the failure of one would be seen as failure of all.’’

    Mustapha said the federal government would continue to empower the FRSC in the discharge of its duties, especially in the area of apprehending and sanctioning recalcitrant offenders.

    The SGF, whose office supervises the FRSC, assured the international community and Nigerians of government’s commitment to road safety issues through increased investment and political will.

    The keynote speaker and Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, disagreed with the popular notion that the nation’s roads are dead traps.

    Fashola said that though bad roads contributed to road accidents, the leading cause remained speed violation resulting from bad attitude of motorists.

    “I have heard people describe our roads as death traps, but what I say to people is that my team and I, about 50 of us travelled those roads early this year.

    “We drove everyday from 8 a.m. to at least 8 p.m. One day we drove for 18 hours. We traversed 34 states, but the instructive thing is that we drove at a maximum speed of 100 km per hour, we drove at night, and we did not have an accident.

    “We were not trapped and we did not die on the dead traps. All of us will just do well to understand that there are speed limits on our highways, there are breaking distances in driving.

    “Even if the road conditions are good, if you do not observe the speed limits, you endanger yourselves.

    “I agree that bad roads contribute to accidents, but I disagree on the evidence that we have that bad roads are the cause of the accidents.’’

    Read also: FRSC arraigns 187 traffic offenders in Bayelsa

    Fashola cited the FRSC monthly road traffic statistics, which show that bad roads contribute only between 0.5 and 1 per cent of accidents in the country.

    Speed violation remains the leading cause, contributing over 55 per cent of the road traffic accidents recorded by the Corps on monthly basis across the country.

    The minister, therefore, urged FRSC to intensify its enforcement of driver’s license, speed limiter installation and other traffic rules and regulations to reduce carnage on the Nation’s highways.

    He also called for more empowerment of the FRSC through increased funding and provision of facilities like rescue helicopters to boost their post-crash operations.

    The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, assured all stakeholders that the Corps remained committed to driving the campaign for safer roads within Nigeria and in the West African sub-region.

    “FRSC will continue to embrace support that would assist not only its personnel, but also our stakeholders from time to time.

    “It is only though continuous education and enlightenment that we all can become better professionals of honour,’’ Oyeyemi said.

    The workshop was organised by the office of the SGF in conjunction with the FRSC and the Sustainable Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

    It aims at building the capacity of federal and state traffic management authorities on implementation of the United Nations road safety conventions to which Nigeria is signatory.

    FRSC personnel, federal controllers of highways, state directors of highways and traffic management agencies and development partners are participating in the two-day workshop.

    NAN

  • AEDC denies issuing “Force Majeure” on direct purchase of electricity

    AEDC denies issuing “Force Majeure” on direct purchase of electricity

    Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc ( AEDC ) has denied declaring any “Force Majeure” over the new Eligible Customer Policy in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry ( NESI ).

    “Force Majeure “ is a contractual and legal announcement, which is used to declare the inability of a party to meet up with a contractual obligation with another party in business.

    The Minister of Power, Works, Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had on May 15, declared four categories of customers that could purchase power direct (eligible customers) from the generation companies in the NESI.

    The declaration, which permits electricity customers to buy power directly from the generation companies, is in line with the provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005.

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ( NERC ) had also on Nov 6, presented  the  regulations to guide the implementation of the customer eligibility in the NESI.

    AEDC in a statement by its Head,  Corporate Communications, Mr Oyebode Fadipe, said the information in the media on declaration of force majeur came to AEDC  as a  shock.

    Fadipe said AEDC was surprised, when its name was listed in some media as one of the DisCos that declared force majeure on  eligible customer policy of the Federal Government.

    “We have neither declared any force majeure nor have we conveyed such intention to either the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) nor Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    “AEDC did not discuss   with   any other stakeholder in the Nigerian electricity supply industry nor do we intend to do so anytime soon”.

    Fadipe urged AEDC’s  customers and stakeholders to disregard the story as it had nothing to do with  the company  as a player in the NESI.

    NAN

  • FG plans for grid stability in 2018

    FG plans for grid stability in 2018

    In its bid to ensure grid stability next year, the Federal Government’s Power Sector Recovery Programme has set a baseline power supply for a minimum of 4,500MWH/H daily for 2018.

    The Programme which power sector Chief Executive Officer, led by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola took turn to explain to journalists in Abuja, has proposed in its operational and technical intervention that would stabilize power not to dip below 4,500MW by 2018.

    It says that ” Baseline power generation, transmission and distribution: Ensure minimum baseline power supply of 4,500MWH/H is guaranteed and distributed daily from 2018 to ensure stability of the grid.”

    Besides, the Programme also unfolded financial interventions for funding both past and further sector deficits from 2017 to 2021 and execute a plan to fund the required Electricity Market Support until tariffs support sector liquidity.

    Part of the financial plans, according to the Programme, is to eliminate past sector revenue deficits of N420billion from December 2016.

    The Programme also however revealed that the World Bank has expressed its willingness to assist the Federal Government electricity plan with a total financial support of $2.5billion.

    Meanwhile,  Fashola said that the Federal Government is about to start negotiation with the Chinese Exim Bank  for the $4.92billion loan for the construction of the 3050Mega Watts (MW) hydroelectric power plant in Mambilla, Sarduana Local Government Area of Taraba State.

    He recalled that the Federal Government had last Friday signed the contract for the project construction with three Chinese firms.

    The $5.79bn project is expected to be completed in six years. The funding consist of $4.92bn from the Chinese Exim Bank and other Chinese lenders are expected to provide 85 percent of the contract sum amounting to $4.92 billion, the Federal Government will put forward 15 percent amounting to $868.87million.

    The scope of work for the project includes, four large dams (Nya, Sumsum, Nghu and Api Weir), and two underground power house of 12 units of 250mw each.

    The other project components include two units of 330KV of 700km transmission lines to Makurdi and Jalingo, 120km of access roads connecting the project site and nearby communities and the resettlement of an estimated 100,000 impacted persons.

    Fashola however said Sunday that: in terms of Mambilla plant construction, two major steps have been taken. We have gotten the Federal Executive Council approval. That was what happened a few months back.

    “The next step was to sign the execution and procurement contract, which is the contract for construction that took place last Friday.

    “As you rightly pointed out, it is supposed to be funded by the Chinese Exim Bank loan, the negotiation for the loan will now start. For this, now we are waiting because it is now the Ministry of Finance takes over, who are the ones who do treasury work for Nigeria. So she (Minister of Finance) will lead the negotiations . And when we secure the loan then we are going to be able to tell you that this is the start date.”

    The minister revealed that despite the expectation of the loan a lot of preparatory work like the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the loan with that state government ongoing.

    He added that a liaison office has been hired in the state government while the project planning team was also constituted by the ministry.

    The ministry, according to him, has identified people while the contractors have already started route estimation, route analysis and movement of heavy equipment.

    The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Louis Edozien said that the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) supplied 4,922MW on Tuesday, stressing that it was only 100MW lesser than the average highest  peak power generation that was recorded in the market this year and ever.

    His words: “Tuesday , the peak generation on the national grid was 4,922.9MW. It is just 100MW less than the maximum we ever had on the grid of 5,074. The total energy generated yesterday was 99,022MWH. That amount that you consumed in your homes is part that 99,022MWH.”

    Meanwhile, the Managing Director, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Company (NBET) said that N701billion was implemented from the January invoices.

    According to her, the January invoices have been merged because when the generation companies supply electricity 90 days time lag have to pass for the invoices to be read and reconciliation to be done before payment.

    The NBET, according to her, is not owing but it is operations a conventional system which has made it pay from January to May for the electricity they supply for the period.

    The delay, according to her,  is that there must be a reconciliation for the past payment which it is doing manually and expects to conclude the process in the next two weeks to pay to the outstanding from June to date.

  • FG to award contract for 69 economic roads – Fashola

    FG to award contract for 69 economic roads – Fashola

    The Federal Government has concluded plans to award contract for reconstruction and rehabilitation of 69 highways nationwide.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola said this at an interactive session with members of 21 Civil Society Organisations and the media on Friday in Lagos.

    Some of the civil society groups include Centre for Democracy and Social Economic Rights, Alliance for Good Governance, Grassroot Democratic Initiative and Centre for Social Economic and Human Rights

    Fashola said that 25 roads would receive attention soon as bid processes to deliver the Sukuk bond were almost completed.

    “Each zone of the country is getting N16.67 billion and they are going to those major arterial roads that take us from the Ports to the Sahel.

    “We have lost some time because we have to follow due process. Since the Sukuk was agreed we had to follow due diligence,” he said.

    He said that with the dry season ahead, a lot of construction would be witnessed nationwide.

    He said that 44 other roads captured during a nationwide tour of roads were also under procurement process.

    “If we complete the procurement we would award the contract to cover six zones of the country,” he said.

    The minster expressed hope that all the 69 roads to receive attention would become motorable within a short time.

    Fashola sought public support in the fight against illegal mining of sand on road edges and other forms of road abuses.

    He expressed worry against activities of illegal sand miners who dig up road verges (edges) to cause rapid road degeneration and collapse of federal highways.

    He said that it was unfortunate that some people took pleasure in “destroying our common assets” and appealed to members of the public to join in the surveillance.

    He said gadgets like cell phones could be used to get evidence of such acts to ensure perpetrators were brought to book, adding that there was a law against road abuses that needed enforcement.

    “We have set up a Right of Way (RoW) Recovery Committee and I know that it has started working.

    “We are trying to recover all the RoW that used to belong to the Federal Government across the country breaking them into zones.

    “It is a lot of work, but  there was no budget for it, so, all of the costs are being compiled and then we are hopeful that in 2018 we would be able to do something if we get the project approved.

    The minister explained that vegetation control was also ongoing as part of its RoW recovery plan.

    He added that the government was ready to hand over more roads to states governments who were willing to take them over.

    Speaking on the Ota-Abeokuta Road, he said that the project was going to be redefined because the road was not initially in the 2018 budget and the contractors made some additional claims.

    He said that the road would be stabilised before the end of the year.

    Speaking on affordable mass housing for Nigerians, Fashola said that government was working on avoiding mistakes of previous housing projects that saw the houses abandoned.

    He explained that some houses constructed by some past administrations were not occupied because they did not take into cognisance the issues of culture of the people, climate and location of projects.

    “All across the country you will see houses but they are not occupied,” he said.

    He explained in 2016, the government took time to sample opinions of Nigerians across the country on what type of houses they wanted and how much they could pay.

    He said that state governors were approached for land at suitable locations to make the houses attractive for intending house owners.

    “At this moment we are constructing in 33 states, when we finish then we would subject that design to affordability test. When we find it works then we will subject it to acceptability test,” he said.

    “This is the first time that Nigeria is undertaking a national housing scheme after Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s housing scheme.

    “There has been other interventions, previous governments have been building houses but a national housing scheme, this is the second time. Shagari’s was the first.”

    NAN

  • FEC approves N27.233 billion Gombe-Biu road 

    FEC approves N27.233 billion Gombe-Biu road 

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday approved N27.233 billion for the construction of the Gombe-Biu road.

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola disclosed this to State House reporters at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma.

    According to Fashola, the road will support access to agricultural facilities, power plant and boost personnel movement.

    He however disclosed that the approval did not include the 9 kilometer part of the road already constructed by the state government.

    He said “We presented two documents, one was a Memorandum that required council approval and the other was a note to inform council. They are important because they follow closely and inter- relate with the economy and recovery plan. The first which was a memo was a  contract of the Gombe – Biu Road that connects Gombe State to Borno and also leads to Adamawa and Yobe. The contract was for N 27.23bn for a 117km.

    “The entire road excludes the 9km that had been constructed by the Gombe State government. The strategic importance of the road is undeniable; it supports agriculture, access to our power plants – Dadin Kowa hydro power plants. It also helps security logistics to move personnel and troops to respond to distress calls.

    “It also going to be critical in the resettlement of IDPS. It’s part of the North East Development plan so it ticks all the boxes in terms of development and so on and also as far as budget implementation is concerned, this is one further step in that direction.”

    He said that the other matter has to do with investment in people, security of lives and property, which is the revised Nigeria national  building code.

    He said “This code is 8 years behind its scheduled date and the first code   was delivered in 2006 and it was revised in 2009 and since then it was stalled. Needless to say we have completed and approved the new code at the National Council of housing which the Ministry of power posted in August this year. It is national binding already and just to inform council.

    “The information that is critical is that it first adopts international building code  standards and it also seeks to improve fire protection systems   in buildings, public and private and In this time of harmattan, dry weather, this is the appropriate time to revise this kind of standards and hope that they can quickly kick in and people benefit from them  and we save lives and property.

     

    “It also introduces the energy efficiency and green building methods into our national standards. Recall that the ministry had launched an energy efficiency building code earlier in the year and that has been incorporated as a national building code to ensure that people build more in compliance to global standard.

    “You can position your building in such a way that people use more daylight, conserve energy, install fire heating systems that conserve energy. All of those are details that are aligned in the new Nigeria National building code. More importantly I will like to speak on the provisions that has been made in responding to the needs of people with disabilities, that’s  a very important position in the code now.

    “Provision of hand grills in toilets and washrooms, hand rails in ramps, lifts and ramps in public buildings to do some electro fitting as we go on.provisions that specify the gradients of ramps  and some of the attempts to respond to this are too steep or sharp, responds to the needs of people living  with disabilities so this code also responds to that.”

    According to him, the standard and quality of equipment used in building have also been reviewed.

    “Because when the  Green…tower fire happened in London, we were in the period of finalising this code and that was part of the things we considered ,what lessons we could  learn from their experience where a high rise building suddenly burnt quickly before fire service could respond.

    “In that case we have modified and restricted some of this equipment and materials that can now be used in building in Nigeria in the hope that it will save lives and property.” he said

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning said that FEC approved N458 million for consultancy services on the review of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    He said “Today  the federal executive council approved a memorandum that was brought by the Ministry of budget and National Planning to retain some consultants to help us to conduct some pilot labs .

    “This is part of our implementation strategy for the economic recovery and growth plan and so we intend to conduct three labs- one in agriculture and transportation, one in power and gas and one in manufacturing and processing.

    “The key objectives of the labs are as follows. One to identify all relevant key stakeholders from the public and private sector that are crucial in the  delivery and implementation of the ERGP initiative so as to create ownership early on  in the development process.

    “We will review and re-evaluate the ERGP and sectoral plans against set targets and progress and will include identifying gaps in the current eco system and the key success factors will further deliver detailed  three phase implementation programme line by line implementation activities.

    “We will identify entry point projects, we will identify key performance indicators, breaking down silos and encouraging  key players. Now the focus of the lab is to mobilise private sector investment to finance specific capital projects as you know public resources are limited so these labs will bring in private sector players.

    “We will look at the various areas including infrastructure, manufacturing and bring them in and mobilise private sector financing and resources for the labs.

    “So what council has approved today is that we bring in some consultants who did a similar thing in Malaysia to try to help us build our own capacity, they will just help us at the beginning and after that we will take over and do it ourselves.

    “The cost of retaining the Malaysian consultants will be N458m. It is going to cover about three months, the duration of the lab is expected to last a minimum of 13 weeks. It will cover three phases – pre- lab activities for four weeks, phase two conduction of the labs themselves 6 weeks and Phase three, post lab activities three weeks and you will have for each labs you will have at least a 100 people from a cross section of the public and private sectors so that is the structure of the lab.

    “So there will do the pilot one. Subsequent labs will not be them. They will help us; they will bring their international connections, reach and give it credibility. 500,000 dollars per lab.”

     

  • Nigeria receives $64.63m from sale of power to Benin, Niger Republics

    The Federal Government has generated $64.6 million revenue from sale of electricity to neighbouring Benin and Niger republics, Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said.

    Fashola gave the figure in an address presented at the 21st meeting of the Power Sector Stakeholders Conference in Asaba.

    The minister said that the government had made efforts to recover the huge debt owed by its international customers to reduce liquidity challenges in the power sector.

    “Only recently, the federal government received the sum of $64.630.65 million from the republics of Benin and Niger for electricity power supplied to these two nations.

    “It is our belief that our effort at recovering some of these debts owed by our international customers will help towards the reducing liquidity challenges we face in the power sector,” Fashola said.

    Fashola said the monthly stakeholders’ conference was an avenue to assess and evaluate the progress of collective efforts at boosting power supply in the country.

    He listed some of the major challenges facing the sector to include estimated billing and inadequate prepaid meters for customers.

    The minister also used the occasion to inaugurate the New Asaba Injection Substation, a 215 MVA substation expected to boost power supply to parts of Delta.

    Fashola said: “With today’s commissioning of the New Asaba 215 MVA  interjection substation, there will now be more electricity for the people of Bonsac, Akwuebulu, Oduke and all other surrounding areas.”

    The stressed that the federal government was working assiduously towards connecting rural areas to the national grid and appealed to people in rural areas to be patient.

    “To those communities that electricity power has not reached across the country, I implore you to be patient, because we have certainly not forgotten you.

    “I want to assure you that one by one, we will get to you so that every community in Nigeria can enjoy electricity supply,” he said.

    Earlier in an address, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, the Managing Director, Benin Electricity Distribution Company ( BEDC ), lauded the initiators of the monthly stakeholders conference.

    She said that the meeting allowed stakeholders to critically analyse their challenges and efforts towards achieving a common goal for the development of the sector.

    “This forum affords all of us an avenue to interact, understand each other and evaluate our common efforts and challenges towards achieving the goal of equitable power distribution to our people.

    “Here at the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, we have started making progress in the area of load management and we have also improved our billing system,” Osibodu said.

    The BEDC boss stated that the company, with franchise area covering Edo, Delta and Ondo states, had energised several communities that have been without electricity for years.

    She listed Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku communities in Delta as some of the communities that BEDC has successfully energised.

    In his address, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, lauded BEDC for the inauguration and official switch-on of the New Asaba Interjection Substation, saying it would boost power supply in the area.

    Okowa, represented by the state Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Newworld Sufugha, expressed urged BEDC to focus on providing prepaid meters to its customers.

    NAN

  • Gov Ishaku lauds FG on 3,050mw Mambilla Hydro-Power

    Gov Ishaku lauds FG on 3,050mw Mambilla Hydro-Power

    Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring the commencement of work on the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydro Electric Power Plant at Gembu in Taraba.

    The governor made the commendation on Monday after a closed door meeting with Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The Federal Executive Council ( FEC ) had on Aug, 30 approved 5.792 billion dollars (about N1.140 trillion) for the construction of the plant 45 years after its conception.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents, said the idea for the project was conceived since 1972.

    “Several efforts had been made to bring it to reality but I’m happy to announce that this government approved the contract today to joint ventures of Chinese Civil and Engineering company for the engineering and turn-key contract, including civil and electro-mechanical works for 5.792 billion dollar.’’

    The governor thanked the President for approving the immediate commencement of work on the plant.

    “I thank him very much indeed about the award of Mambilla hydro-power project which is one of the biggest hydro-project in Nigeria.

    “It has stayed over 30 years on the drawing board until his regime.

    “So, that is a very big feat and I thought I should come and thank him and seek his audience. When next I will come with Taraba people to thank him.

    “This is a very good project for the country as a whole, 3,050 megawatts, for those of us who know what a megawatt is, it can do a lot in developing Nigeria,’’ he added.

    On the proposed Taraba Anti-Grazing Law, the governor revealed that the law would come into effect by January 2018.

    He, however, disclosed that the state government had set up two committees to sensitize farmers and herdsmen on the benefits of the anti-grazing bill.

    Ishaku described the bill as advantageous to both the farmers and herdsmen; socially and economically.

    “Our own anti-grazing law will come into effect next year January.

    “Two panels were set up to sensitize the farmers and the herdsmen so that they both understand the benefits of the anti- grazing bill.

    “I still believe for the herdsmen, socially and economically, that is the best thing that will ever happen to them if we can consolidate on that.

    “The awareness is improving each day and people are beginning to know that these laws are done in good faith and are done to secure lives and property of the people,’’ he said.

    The governor expressed the hope that the bill would be implemented without hindrance.

    Ishaku called on the Federal Government to review its decision on the withdrawal of military officers from Taraba so as to enhance security situation in the state.

    NAN