The Nation Newspaper

Tag: improving

  • How NDPHC is improving, stabilising power supply

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) was set up to intervene in critical areas of the power supply value chain to enable government meet electricity requirements for domestic and industrial consumption. In the past 10 years, it has striven to achieve its mandate, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    There is no doubting the huge power supply deficit. With a population of about 198 million, Nigeria needs at least 18,000 megawatts (mw) to enable a chunk of the population access electricity supply and about 50,000mw produced to achieve uninterrupted power supply. But power supply has hovered between 3000mw and 6000mw.

    The Federal Government has, over the years, invested huge amount of money in the power sector without  commensurate results. In the early 2000s the government began a holistic power sector reform, which saw the introduction of policies and initiatives to drive an accelerated sector reform. While some of them failed or fell short of expectation, some initiatives have proven successful. One of such initiatives is the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC).

    The NDPHC is a company incorporated and co-owned by three tiers of government – Federal, state and local governments. It was set up to fast-track power sector infrastructure development company in 2005 with a mandate to manage power projects under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP). The NIPP is an emergency intervention scheme meant to tackle the huge supply deficit and expand power sector infrastructure in the country.

    The company’s key mandate was to develop 10 power plants with a designed ISO capacity of 5,067mw, 102 transmission lines and sub-stations projects and over 291 distribution- injection sub-stations and gas infrastructure with over 22,000 completely Self Protected transformers, among other critical projects.

    So far, the company has completed about 4,015mw of this designed capacity, representing about 80 per cent of the mandate and has also made remarkable inputs in transmission, distribution and gas infrastructure.

    The NDPHC may not have completely solved the electricity needs of consumers, but data on what the firm has achieved, which was obtained by The Nation, showsed that it has recorded some milestones, which when well harnessed, will put the nation on a clear path to uninterrupted power supply. Although the company operates silently, it has continued to fulfill its role as a catalyst in bridging the power infrastructure deficiency that has continued to hinder development in productive sectors of the economy.

    In power generation, eight of the 10 power plants in the NIPP portfolio, along with associated gas transmission metering/receiving infrastructure projects to support commercial operation, have been commissioned and connected to the national grid, contributing over 22,000,000k watt/hour (Whr) of energy daily subject to availability of gas.

    The NDPHC has continued to operate these power plants in the interest of the Nigerian economy despite security challenges and accumulated debt of over N121billion owed it by the electricity market. The firm’s contribution represents about 30 per cent of power requirement in the grid.

    The NDPHC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, said although the projects began when NIPP programme took off in 2006, it was disrupted by inadequate funding, particularly in 2008. He was optimistic that reliable progress will be made going by the progress of works at the various sites. Ugbo noted that conflicts resolution in the host communities, which also contributed to the delay with protracted court cases, rekindled hope and fired the NDPHC to speed up work on the projects.

     

    Generation segment

    In the generation segment of the value chain, the NPDHC has over 3,000mw capacity available for deployment to the national grid if it has capacity to wheel it. Inputs from the NDPHC facilities contribute significantly to the current improvement in power supply. The NDPHC has completed the 750mw Olorunsogo II power plant, the 450mw (Ogorode) Sapele power plant, the 434mw Geregu II power plant, the 450mw Omotosho II power plant, the 450mw Ihovbor power plant, the 450mwAlaoji power plant, the 563mw Calabar and 225mw Gbarain power plants.  Ongoing projects in the generation segment include 225mw Omoku, 338mw Egbema and 530mwAlaoji steam machines.

    Many of the NIPP power plants on the national grid also provide ancillary services like spinning reserve to support the system operations, a contribution critical for stabilising the national grid.

     

    Transmission segment

    In transmission, the NDPHC has also completed 2,194km of 330kV transmission lines and 809km of 132kV transmission lines. This represents an increase of 46 per cent and 13 per cent respectively over the pre-NIPP status of grid infrastructure. A total of 10 new 330/132kV substations and seven new 132/33kV substations have also been completed with several other existing substations significantly expanded, thereby, adding 5,590MVA and 3,313MVA capacity to the national grid.

    The NIPPs’ contributions to the transmission grid system have transformed the hitherto radial 330kV/132kV grid into a more robust grid system with significant provision of alternative power flow routes, which now serve as redundancies and which has resulted in a more reliable and stable Nigerian grid.

    These projects were achieved through the commissioning of the over 220km long 330kV Double Circuit (DC) lines providing alternative thermal power into Abuja and the FCT from Geregu, through a new Lokoja substation, a new Gwagwalada substation into the existing Transmission Company of Nigeria’s Katampe and Apo substations with several significant expansion works on existing substation developments along this route.

    Another remarkable transmission project is the 330kV Transmission backbone, which provides several 330kV DC transmission line spurs from Power plant zones in Calabar, Alaoji, Afam and Ikot Abasi into a switching hub at Ikot Ekpene. From this hub, long DC lines emanate to flow power from these southern based power generation centres to Jos and the far North East through Ugwuaji and Makurdi in Enugu and Benue States. With the commissioning of about 95 per cent of this grid backbone in November 2016, the Nigerian transmission grid bade goodbye to the radial grid era and entered a new unattainable level of grid security, reliability and stability that seemed elusive since the commencement of Nigerian grid operations in 1969.

    Completion of the majority of the balance of works on this grid backbone is progressing impressively and planned to be completed soon. The statistics of NIPP contribution to overall transmission system growth and reliability with improvements in transformation capacity, is progressively increasing each day as the balance of NIPP transmission projects are being delivered.

    The company invested in critical transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to evacuate the electricity generated into the national grid and distributed same to end-users. The projects the NDPHC has executed in this area included the expansion of 36 Transmission Company of Nigeria’s 330kV and 132kV substations across the country and the construction of 1,635Km of 330kv Double Circuit lines; 720km of 132kV Double Circuit lines; 10 new 330kV substations; seven new 132Kv substations;         6,150MVA of 330/132kv transformation capacity;  2,800MVA of 132/33kV transformation  capacity; and the provision of over 25,000 complete self-protection (CSP) transformers.

    In November last year, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), innuagurated the 12-circuit Ikot-Ekpene 330KVA Switching Station and the associated transmissions lines with about 285km completed by the NDPHC. These projects are now assisting in evacuating into the national grid, electricity, which had been stranded in the Eastern Delta.

     

    Distribution segment

    In the electricity distribution segment, the NDPHC has constructed and innuagurated over 350 injection substations with a combined capacity of 3,540mw across the country.  It has further constructed 2,600km of 11kV and 1,700km of 33kV distribution lines to improve access to electricity and quality of power supply to consumers. The distribution capacity has also been enhanced by the installation of 25,900 completely self-protected (CSP) transformers across the country, which has significantly reduced technical losses. Under the NIPP programme, the capacity of 33/0.415kV and 11/0.415kV has been increased by 26 per cent. The NIPP is designed to increase the number of 33/0.415kV & 11/0.415kV substations by 163 per cent and that target is nearing attainment.

    The NDPHC also installed 150 MVA transformer at Asaba 330/132 KV transmission sub-station. This transformer was initially installed and energised in February 2015. It failed in circuit in May 2016 and several investigations and tests were carried out to rectify the fault. The transformer was eventually re-energised and put on the grid in March, 2017 after it was technically certified by the technical team of the NDPHC, Engineering & Procurement consultants (EPC) contractors and the Project Consultants (PC).

    This development at the Asaba transmission substation will enhance power supply to Asaba and its environs, including the overloaded Transmission Company of Nigeria’s transformer at Onitsha in Anambra State, which services Asaba and its environs.

     

    Renewables energy

    segment

    The NDPHC is also making an inroad into renewable energy to give power to Nigerians not covered by the grid. In January 2017, the company launched the Solar Home Systems (SHS) project, anchored on the Presidential Initiative on Rural Solar Home Lighting Systems. It aimed at extending power to rural communities across the country without any form of access to electricity from the national grid. The project was tagged: “NDPHC beyond the Grid”. The NDPHC through its long term experience in developing power projects, has identified many rural communities in the six geo-political zones of the country where these solar projects will be implemented. Also, the NDPHC has deployed 200 units of the SHS (Solar Homes Systems) as pilot programme at Wuna. The units were deployed within a period of 12 months.

     

     

     

    In addition to the SHS unit, NDPHC’s solar project is also directed at auditing and reactivating 1,073 solar powered boreholes. Two of these boreholes are in the Wuna community and are the first to be repaired and has provided access to clean water for the community.

     

     

     

    Challenges

    The National Integrated Power Project is the largest single intervention in power infrastructure in Africa and the implementation has not been without challenges, which includes community restiveness, security situation in the Niger Delta region. Such challenges are not unexpected in the process of executing multi-billion dollar projects in emerging economies such as Nigeria. NDPHC’s current management, believesin dialogue and has engaged stakeholders at all levels in resolving some community issues to progress projects delivery and power to Nigerians.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    It engaged the Oronta Community in Abia State and the issue was settled out of court. The settlement paved way for contractors to resume work on the transmission line. Similarly, the management engaged the governors of the eastern region especially the Enugu State Governor with a view to solicit his support and that of his colleagues from the region in resolving community issues in the Eastern region where projects delivery is being threatened. In Calabar, the management resolved community issues affecting operation and evacuation of power from Calabarpower station. The resolution of this community crisis made possible the evacuation of power station’s 380mw through the 330kV line into the grid.

    In its quest to ensure steady gas supply to Calabar power station, NDPHC signed a Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG) with the World Bank to ensure regular gas supply to Calabar Power Generation Company.The PRG, which amounts to $112million, is a form of securitization for gas supply under the Gas Sale Agreement (GSA) between NDPHC/Calabar Generation Company Limited and Accugas. This is for a period of nine months during which about 500mw additional electricity will be wheeled to the grid for the benefit of Nigerians. There is need for the payment of the huge debt of N121 billion to enable the firm to do more.

    Way forward

    To ensure accountability in the system, due process as a cardinal tool in the operations of NDPHC was resuscitated and became effective as the current management saw the need to streamline work process at all levels with strict compliance with due process and approval limit. Meetings and interaction with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) were also explored for this purpose in line with the focus and policy thrust of the current administration.

    With completion of the projects in excess of 80 per cent, and the balance being vigorously pursued, the NDPHC has definitely delivered on its mandate of providing robust power infrastructure for the nation.

    Currently generation capacity is about 12,000mw, transmission at about 6000mw and distribution 5000mw. As a result of the huge supply gap Board and management look forward to doing a lot more under NIPP phase II through a more diversified generation-mix underpinned on the utilisation of alternative sources of power generation including renewables. NDPHCplans to close the infrastructure deficit arising from the continued growth of the economy and gaps associated with other critical stakeholders in the power value chain.

     

     

     

  • We are improving, decongesting prisons, says Assistant Controller

    Assistant Control-ler General of Prisons in charge of Zone E, Mr Jide Joseph Olorunmola, says there has been remarkable improvement in the Nigeria Prisons Service, and that the present leadership is working hard towards decongestion.

    Olorunmola, who was on a familiarization/inspection tour to the Cross River State Command, and conducted round by the State Controller of Prisons, Imaikop Ndaekong said, said the situation today is much better than it was in the past.

    He said, “When you talk of improvement, you look at the past and look at the current situation and then forecast for the future. The structures were dilapidated. There was shortage of drugs. There was lack of vehicles to convey prisoners to courts. That was the situation before the current administration under the leadership of Controller General of Prisons, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed.

     

     

     

  • Improving on asset recovery

    SIR: The inaugural Global Forum for Asset Recovery held in the District of Colombia has come and gone. I feel a sense of pride to know that some of the modest efforts we put in bore some fruit. Those first fruits came in form of an announcement from the Federal government and its Swiss counterpart that both parties signed agreement for the repatriation of $321million of the loot which the late Sani Abacha stashed in Switzerland. Prior to that announcement, a surprise one came from Nigeria’s number one lawyer, Abubakar Malami, that assets worth N861million from the Malabu deal had been returned to Nigeria.

    Only on Friday, December 15, a UK court ruled that an amount to the tune of $85million from the Malabu deal be made forfeit to the federal republic of Nigeria. That ruling in favour of Nigeria is a victory for Nigerians as it will soon make the money available to finance development initiatives in the country. It has come at a time when Nigeria is running a deficit budget and plans to borrow to finance the deficit. What has become evident and which holds true is that in the asset recovery tripod, the negotiations leading to a repatriation of stolen wealth anywhere in the world is much more dicey and sensitive much more than a freezing and seizure of such stolen funds.

    There are other asset recovery cases like the Malabu – the Diezani, the Dasukigate and the cases of Nigerians fingered as beneficial owners of offshore companies. These cases are unique in the fact that the usual suspects are here with us. They are not ghosts, and to that extent, they have put the full measure of the proceeds of their crime to bear in the fight to repatriate the monies which they are alleged to have made away with.

    I believe that it would take more than political will to recover and repatriate assets from the looters. The current administration must muster the courage to get to the root of all these cases; after all, they promised Nigerians that the fight against corruption was a priority. While the negotiations which led to the Swiss government signing an MoU/agreement with Nigerian government to return $321million, were on, some big questions kept bordering my mind, will the repatriated loot be re-looted as it happened in the past or will it be carefully used to improve the lives of poor Nigerians?

    To what extent has the federal government demonstrated the will to apply the fund where it will have maximum impact? Has the framework for monitoring the use of the repatriated look been properly laid down? We need to reflect on these simple but serious questions and if the right thing has not been done, there is still time to do the needed adjustments.

    In 2006 when Switzerland returned about $500million of the Abacha loot, it was said to have been factored into the national budget and used for the implementation of projects.  But a shadow report by the Nigeria Network on Stolen Assets revealed that some 29 of the 53 surveyed projects hardly met requirements of reasonable degree of completion or sufficient operation. (Peter Lang, 2011). Involvement of CSOs saved those monies from being re-looted. That monitoring framework used at that time involving CSOs, the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria has been hailed internationally as a ‘paradigm for a truly  transparency process ’. That justifies why the proper application and monitoring of the $321m is of serious concern to all.

    Nigeria is ripe for a proper legal frame work on asset recovery and the Nigerian CSOs at the just concluded Global Forum for Asset Recovery made useful proposition which should be taken seriously. The CSOs urged the Nigerian government to accelerate action on the passage of pending bills – including, inter alia, the Proceeds of Crime  Bill – into laws in order to strengthen asset recovery framework in Nigeria. The POCA Bill would actualize the key commitment made during the London Anti-Corruption Summit in 2016. The CSOs also urged the Nigerian government to strengthen, through legislative action, the powers and autonomy of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) so that the unit can operate in consonance with the standards of FATF and the EGMONT group. Channelling all recovered assets to compensate victims of corruption so as to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also came out as a strong recommendation, and the CSOs concluded that the monitoring of the use of recovered assets through a transparent and accountable framework by CSOs and other interest groups was critical.

     

    • Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku,

    Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice, (ANEEJ), Benin City.

  • Nigeria’s investment horizon improving, says Exotix Partners

    Nigeria’s investment horizon improving, says Exotix Partners

    A major global investment and finance firm, Exotix Partners, has said recent changes in Nigerian fiscal and monetary policies have brightened the prospects of Nigerian investment markets. In a new review of the Nigerian economy titled “It’s time for a re-appraisal”, Exotix noted that some analysts and pundits might have allowed the previous sentiments to blur their analytical edge to fail to see the improving dynamics of the Nigerian economy and investment space.

    Exotix is a major global finance and investment company with considerable imprints in world and Africa’s commercial centres. It coordinates its global operations through five major offices in London, New York, Lagos, Dubai and Nairobi.

    “Negativity on Nigeria appears to have no end. Six months ago, it was all about the failures of a misguided foreign exchange policy; now the narrative has moved on to the Niger Delta Avengers, the onset of recession, the poor state of Federal Government of Nigeria finances and any number of other concerns. Is it possible that investors have adopted a permanently negative bias on Nigeria?” Exotix rhetorically asked in the review.

    According to the sovereign research report, Nigeria’s adjustment is progressing better than previously thought with the exchange rate now trading below its fair value on an REER basis even when N315/$ was used instead of N340-350/$; inflation has peaked in underlying terms and oil production is likely to have bottomed.

    “While we are not under any illusions about the problems facing the market, we think expectations  about  the  path  of  the  foreign exchange rate –and  the  economy  as  whole –have become  unrealistically  negative.  If  anything,  with  the  potential  for  a  rebound  in  both the  oil  price, thanks  to  OPEC action,  and  production, thanks  to  a  deal  with  the Avengers, we would argue that the balance of risk has actually been shifting in favour of  the  upside.  However,  the  standard  investor  bias  has  become  so  negative,  in  our view, that they are unwilling to recognise the potential for an improvement,” Exotix stated.

    The report noted that the changes in Nigeria’s forex regime, although very late, moved it closer to a market-determined free-float than Nigeria has ever been, and will continue to move in that direction.

    “One of the least well-covered aspects of Nigeria’s adjustment is the turnaround in the external accounts. To most experienced Nigeria observers, the biggest surprise is the reversal in the net errors and omissions component of the BoP, responsible for inflows of $26 billion over the past four quarters. We think this reflects a combination of factors including: the rise of informal, non-oil exports which received a boost from the devaluation; the repatriation of savings from abroad, via the black market; an increase in unrecorded remittances; and the rise of informal or stolen oil exports. Not only do these inflows reduce Nigeria’s external funding needs, but they support the impression of an adjustment that has been underway for much longer than the market assumes,” Exotix stated.

    The report pointed out that the extraordinary measures taken in order to attract capital have important implications for the investment landscape noting that in contrast to the recovery in 2009, when the policy response was centred around a large handout to the household sector through higher public sector wages, the approach in 2016 involves a similarly large transfer to banks in form of high yields on government paper, negative real interest rates on deposits, lucrative trading businesses in forex and attractive spreads on special on-lending facilities provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Exotix also noted that for all the attention lavished on the problems facing government, its role in any economic recovery should be de-emphasised as the footprint of the Nigerian state relative to the overall economy has been in decline since at least 2009.

    “On GDP/capita of $2,743 in 2015, it collected $117 per head in taxes and invested just $17. Even if public sector capital expenditures were doubled from current levels, we doubt the impact on overall growth would be significant. Any recovery would, by necessity, be investment-driven and private sector dependent,” Exotix pointed out.

  • NIRSAL praised for improving agric lending

    The Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has been commended for enabling significant increase in lending to agriculture by the financial sector.

    In a statement, the body’s Coordinator, Research and Strategy,  Bello Abdullahi Abba,  said, “NIRSAL earned the commendation at the recently concluded 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Nairobi Kenya where Nigeria was cited as a country that has successfully developed a National Risk Sharing Facility for banks to lend to agriculture.”

    He said Nigeria through NIRSAL, “witnessed a 600 per cent increase in lending by banks to the agriculture sector, rising from 0.7 per cent of total bank lending to Five per cent within the last four years, adding that the development has led to many banks establishing their own specialised agricultural lending desks.

    NIRSAL Plc. is a $500 million (about N100 billion) Public Private initiative, wholly owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a licensed financial institution designed to appropriately define, price and share agribusiness related credit risk, with a mandate to increase the flow of finance to commercial agriculture by de-risking and fixing the agricultural value chain.

    The Sixth AGRF brought together Heads of States and governments, farmer organisations, business leaders and captains of industry, eminent thought leaders, development partners, researchers, finance & investment leads to share their insights on how to create, align and leverage financial, technical, policy and market-expanding resources to develop game-changing and inclusive agribusiness models for Africa.

    Speakers at the event included Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta; African Development Bank; Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Vice President, AGCO; Dr. Rob Smith, Svein Tore Holsether, YARA President and CEO; Mr. Strive Masiyiwa and Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame.

     

  • 2016 budget targeted at improving lives, says Fayemi

    2016 budget targeted at improving lives, says Fayemi

    •Minister laments neglect of solid minerals
    •’Only N352m released to ministry in 2015’

    Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi has explained that the 2016 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari is aimed at improving the lives of Nigerians and to breathe life into the economy.

    He said the budget would be implemented to the letter and pursued with passion to better the people’s standard of living and execute the change agenda promised by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

    Fayemi spoke yesterday at his hometown, Isan Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area  during his yearly Christmas/end of the year get-together for the party’s members.

    A thanksgiving service was held at St. Martin’s Catholic Church and attended by many officials who served under him as Ekiti State governor, leaders and members of APC, traditional rulers, religious and community leaders.

    Defending the 2016 Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly, Fayemi said the N6.08 trillion budget proposal was not bogus as claimed by some opposition figures.

    Rather, he said it was carefully prepared to strengthen the economy, address the collapse of infrastructure and create jobs for Nigerians.

    He explained that the budget was also aimed at weaning Nigeria from over dependence and focusing on non-oil sectors as solid minerals, agriculture and tourism to drive the economy.

    The former Ekiti governor identified solid minerals sector as a catalyst to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria, noting that the long-term neglect of the rich mineral deposits hurt the economy, hence the need to harness them to generate more foreign exchange into the nation’s coffers.

    Fayemi said: “The budget presented by President Buhari has a focus and the focus is to improve the well-being of Nigerians and improve on the infrastructural facilities across the nation.

    “So, what we need now is to prove our mettle by being innovative and creative. We need to work hard to actualise the focus of this budget and this will only be measured by the level of impacts we are able to make on the masses”.

    On the country’s enormous mineral potentials Fayemi said Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in cement production was enough to attest to the fact that the country was richly blessed.

    “Nigeria is well-endowed. Our self-sufficiency in limestone for production of cement, marble, ceramic and many others in terms of local consumption and export rate, one would know that Nigeria is endowed.

    “In my local community in Isan Ekiti here, we have clay and kaolin and that was why we are regarded as the pottery capital of Ekiti. But what have we achieved or done with this potential? And this endowment can be replicated a thousand folds across Nigeria.

    “In Ijero-Ekiti, there is feldspar, tantalite stone, kaolin and many others. Even just look at the stones across the country, if it is just to cut and polish and use as tiles, one cannot imagine the huge economic gains and the employment it will generate, let alone the export earnings that are involved.

    “We have been getting cheap money from oil and now the cheap money is gone. Now, we have to look inward and that was exactly what the budget is targeted to achieve.”

    Fayemi confirmed that only N352 million was released from the N1 billion allocated to the ministry in the 2015 budget.

    He said over the past five years, the capital allocation to the ministry and its agencies  had been less than N10 billion, which, he added, continually held back the development of the mining sector.

    Fayemi emphasised that Buhari was determined to diversify the economy and that the task of the ministry would be to remove any obstacle to the growth, including working with the National Assembly to receive the right budgetary provisions and ensuring expansion in bulk handling terminals.

    The minister, who spoke in a statement in Abuja, added that the approved Medium Term Expenditure Frame work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) emphasised the place of the ministry in the country’s economic growth strategy.

    His words: “The global mining market is in turmoil as key sources of demand that supported prices over the past two decades have declined. As you may be aware, there is continuous global decline in prices of mining products, which has put mines and mining houses under tremendous pressure.

    “Funding has been a challenge partially because the sector had not been a focus area for both government and financial institutions. Over the past five years for example, the total capital allocation to the ministry and its agencies in the budget had been less than N10 billion and of the N1 billion allocated for 2015, only N352 million was released.”

  • ‘Lagos committed to improving standard of living’

    The member representing Apapa Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Lawal Mojisola Lasbat has assured her constituents of government’s readiness to implement projects that will improve their living condition.

    Mrs. Lasbat spoke at a stakeholders’ forum at the weekend. She said the meeting, being held simultaneously across 40 constituencies, was aimed at identifying the people’s demands, with the intent to incorporate them into the 2016 budget.

    The lawmaker, who noted that no meaningful development could be recorded without due consultation with the people, promised that the House would continue to accord priority to the people’s needs, bearing in mind that they were elected to represent their interest. She urged constituents to express their opinions and suggest areas where they needed government’s intervention.

    Executive Secretary of the Apapa Local Government Area, Mrs. Bolaji Dada, praised the House for organising the gathering.

    She noted that the meeting would allow residents participate in selecting projects to be executed and give room for free expression. “The problems facing people in the council are laid bare before those to prepare the budget and at the end, government will serve the people better,” she said.

     

  • ‘We are improving Nigerians’ welfare in our university’

    The De Montfort University (DMU) in United Kingdom, has promised to provide temporary jobs for six of its Nigerian students after graduation.
    This was contained in a statement in Lagos by the country Director, Mr. Babajide Ogundeji.
    Ogundeji said De Montfort University is committed to improving the welfare of Nigerian students abroad. According to him, Nigerian students who want to study for undergraduate and postgraduate degree would be given a €1,000 discount.
    He said: “Students can study within one of four faculties- Art, Design and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Life Sciences and Technology. Popular degrees include Business, Engineering, Computing, Architecture and Nursing.”
    Ogundeji noted that the institution places premium on research.
    “Almost 60 per cent of DMU’s research activities were judged as world-leading or internationally excellent in the 2014 REF (Research Excellence Framework), the UK-wide initiative to assess the quality of research in UK universities.
    “The university has recently invested £136 million to transform our campus, creating a modern inspiring environment, which students deserve and the school is well positioned in England, it is only one hour by train from central London.

  • Advanced economies’ outlook improving, says IMF chief

    Advanced economies’ outlook improving, says IMF chief

    International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the economic outlook for advanced economies has improved marginally, while emerging-market economies face more modest, if not slower, growth.

    “For once, in a long time, there are clearly some relatively better news on the horizon of the advanced economies. This has not happened in a while,” said Ms. Lagarde at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other heads of the world’s leading economic organisations.

    The U.S. economy is rebounding and there is good growth showing in the U.K., she said.

    “The euro area is also now turning the corner,” she said. “The European growth is probably going to turn better than expected.”

    But, China is growing slower and Russia’s economy will shrink by at least three per cent this year, Ms. Lagarde said.

    She also warned that there are risks stemming from geopolitical situations as well as monetary policies, given the accommodative central bank policies in the eurozone and Japan, while the Federal Reserve is set to lift U.S. interest rates to return to a more traditional monetary policy.

    “This will clearly involve more volatility and it will also have currency impact,” Ms. Lagarde said.

    In a joint declaration issued Wednesday, the leaders of Germany, the IMF, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and the International Labour Organisation called on governments to undertake efforts to boost their economies and strengthen employment.

    “Geopolitical risks have increased in various regions of the world; they constitute a significant burden for global economic development,” the declaration said. “At a time of moderate and uncertain growth prospects, governments have to strengthen reforms and pro-active measures in order to support recovery and ensure growth. Ambitious reforms can help to create more productive, more dynamic and more inclusive economies and societies.”

    The declaration said strengthening growth prospects remains as a key priority. “It is important to boost investment and revert the recent trend especially of decreasing foreign direct investment flows,” it said.

  • Improving heart health with plants

    Many people have one heart problem or another.

    But, these problems can be prevented by eating natural plants, a natural medicine practitioner, Dr Gilbert Ezengige, has said.

    According to him, food and supplements can help to maintain the heart, thus avoiding serious heart challenges.

    He said garlic (Allium sativum) promotes blood circulation and prevents blood clots formation.

    This also assists in the treatment of hardening of arteries and lowers blood fat.

    Garlic, he said, reduces high blood pressure.

    Ezengige, who is also the General Secretary of Natural Integrative Medicine Practitioners Association (NIMPA), also recommended regular consumption of banana, which is rich in potassium.

    He said it helps the body to maintain normal blood pressure and reduces cholesterol level.

    He said onion is good for the treatment of angina, which is pain in the region of the heart.

    Onion, he said, also lowers cholesterol in the blood and supports the heart function. It reduces blood pressure.

    Lemon grass known botanically as Cymbopogon citrates, serves as heart and blood vessels tonic. It also works as an antioxidant, which also works as a rejuvenator of the nervous system.

    He said ginger-like garlic promotes blood circulation, supports the heart and blood vessels.

    He also said avocado pear helps to regulate blood pressure and supports the heart function.

    Ginger he said lowers the bad cholesterol (LDL), and increases the good cholesterol (HDL) level in the blood.

    This plant tones muscles and nerves.

    He identified tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus) Ofio in Yoruba, Aki-awusa in Igbo, as a good plant for the management of the heart.

    According to him,“It can also serve as body energiser and tonic. It is good for the treatment of atherosclerosis (plaque formation in the blood vessels).

    “It can prevent heart attack and blood clot formation in the arteries. It also reduces the bad cholesterol.”

    Ezengige said other healing foods for the heart include: sour sop, celery, parsley, virgin coconut oil, citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemon etc. cashew nut, red wine, grapes, lettuce, okra, tomatoes, cayenne pepper, garden egg, honey and pepper fruit (Dennettia tripetala,  mmimi in Igbo) and fish like mackerel, and sardines.

    He identified food supplements that can support the heart vitamin E, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, calcium, coenzymes Q10, selenium, magnesium and fish oil which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

    Ezengige advised readers to patronise  fruit and vegetables but limit consumption of fried foods, artificial food products and (red) meat.

    He said drugs can treat or manage diseases of the heart but they can’t nourish or revitalise it, adding: “Only foods can play that role”.

    He recommended nutritional medicine because it utilises foods and food supplements to maintain health and prevent, manage and treat diseases.

    Ezengige said the healing actions of foods are traceable to the food nutrients or non-nutrient plant chemicals (phytochemicals) which is present in food as well as the effects of colour energy of various foods.

    He said people with various heart conditions are on the increase in our fast paced world.

    This, he said, calls for a deliberate action plan to feed the whole body, most especially the heart with what can nourish it and keep it working smoothly.

    “If we take just two disease conditions of the heart such as hypertension and stroke (the resultant effect of uncontrolled hypertension), we will be confronted with frightening statistics,” he said.

    Ezengige said: “Hippocrates, a Greek physician, best described today as the father of modern medicine who lived between 460BC and 357BC once told his students; Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”.

    He also advised his fellow colleagues to leave their drugs in the chemist’s shops if they couldn’t heal their patients with foods. “These Hippocratic teachings are cardinal to healthy living and fundamental to the proper maintenance of organs of the body including that vital organ we call the heart,” he stated.