The Nation Newspaper

Tag: power equipment

  • Past governments abandoned 800 containers of power equipment, says Lai Mohammed

    Eight hundred containers of power equipment meant to help boost power generation in the country were abandoned at the ports by past administrations, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said yesterday.

    He said in a television interview that the containers were abandoned because contractors were not paid.

    But he said the Buhari administration has  retrieved  690 of the containers.

    He said the contractors have also been paid and mobilised to site. “How many hours of power did we have? When we came in all the GENCOs were generating were under 5000 megawatt, which we have been able to raise to 7000.

    “Today people who live in parts of Ondo that have not seen power for 10 years will tell you they now have power.

    “As a matter of fact, not only do we generate 7000 megawatt of power, by the end of this year we will generate additional 2000 megawatt,” he said.

    On challenges of power distribution, the Minister said the government had put measures in place to solve the problem.

    “If once in a while there is problem in distribution, it is not about generation. Yes there is this disconnect between the generation and distribution and this is where the government has come in to help the distribution companies through a programme called the Distribution Expansion Project,” he said.

    He further reiterated the effort of the present government in working to revive the Mambilla Power Project,

    According to him, going by the effort of the present government the Mambilla Plateau will generate additional 3050 megawatt of power in a few years time.

    He pointed out that President Muhammadu Buhari was the only one that had summoned the courage and political will to see that the project was revived.

    “We have improved on what we inherited because we put together a payment assurance scheme of N701 billion to ease the difficulties of gas suppliers and generating companies who complained that they have the capacity to generate but the discos do not have the capacity to pay them.

    “In the area of distribution, we were distributing 2,690 megawatts of power in 2015.

    “January 2018, we distributed 5,125 megawatts. So, in every area of power we have stories to tell,” he added.

    Mohammed explained that beyond power, the Federal Government had touched the lives of Nigerians positively in other areas including education, agriculture, infrastructure and technological development.

    “The N100 billion Sukuk bond that was divided into N16.6 billion for each of the geopolitical zones is powering infrastructure of 25 critical roads.

    “The present government has invested in bridges, roads and rails and had put aside a 1.3billion dollar under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund to ensure that five critical projects did not suffer from funding.

    “Some of these projects have been there for about 40 years, such as the Mambilla Power Project, Second Niger Bridge, the East West road, the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way and the Abuja-Kano road. “There is no area that this government has not touched,” he said.

    Also speaking in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, on Friday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Oladele Adeoti, the minister said the Federal Government is fixing the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure despite its lean resources, occasioned by the fall in oil prices.

    According to him, “Things have gone so bad in the country before the advent of this Administration and these are what we are working to fix. Before we came to power oil prices soared but nothing was done with the money.

    ”But, upon assumption of office, the price went down significantly. Even at that, we have done more with the little resources than the previous administrations,” he said.

    Responding to the Oba’s plea for the development of more infrastructure in the area, Mohammed said the contract for the Ilorin-Omu-Aran-Kabba-Lokoja road has already been awarded, adding that he would soon inspect the project to find out what is hindering its timely execution.

    He congratulated the Oba on his ascension to the throne of his forefathers and equally condoled with him over the death of the first Military Governor of Kwara State, Brig. -Gen. David Bamigboye (rtd), who hailed from Omu-Aran.

    In his remarks, the Olomu appealed to the Federal Government to establish an institution of higher learning in the community due to its rich history and population.

    He also asked the Federal Government to immortalize the late Gen. Bamigboye as a mark of honour for his patriotism and selfless service to the people of Kwara State.

    “He did a lot as a Governor of the old Kwara State in the areas of education and infrastructural development. We want the Federal Government to immortalize him by naming a street in his honour in the Federal Capital Territory,” the traditional ruler said.

    Meanwhile, the Minister also on Friday paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Gen. Bamigboye.

    Speaking during the visit, he described the late General as a statesman who laid the foundation for the socio-economic development of Kwara and Kogi States.

    “The General left his indelible marks in the sand of time, especially as it relates to Kwara State. What you have witnessed today in terms of socio-economic development is largely due to the effort of the late General,” he said.

    The Minister said despite his young age when he assumed the leadership of the old Kwara State, Gen. Bamigboye showed uncommon foresight and wisdom in governing the state.

  • Akiolu condemns vandalism, theft of power equipment

    the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, yesterday condemned vandalism and theft of power equipment by those he described as criminal elements within the society.

    Akiolu made the condemnation when the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) led by the company’s Managing Director; Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi visited at his Iga-Iduganran Palace in Lagos.

    The General Manager, Corporate Communications Unit of EKEDC, Mr Godwin Idemudia, quoted Akiolu in a statement as saying that the perpetrators of the vandalism were enemies of the society.

    “All well-meaning people should join hands to stop them,’’ the traditional ruler said.

    The monarch remarked that improvement in power supply being experienced would trigger socio-economic development and create more jobs.

    He said protection of power equipment should be the concern of all lovers of development.

    Akiolu told his guests that he had been doing his best to enlighten his subjects, on the need to pay more for electricity since distribution had been privatised and to ensure improved electricity.

    The monarch advised EKEDC to look inward and fish out bad eggs within its fold.

    He noted that some of the officials of the company were in the habit of colluding with people to engage in illegal connection.

    Akiolu suggested the establishment of a special task force, comprising top officials of the company and security operatives, to monitor power supply situation.

    The traditional ruler said that the task force should also coordinate the activities of members of staff of the company and the public to forestall vandalism, energy theft and other sharp practices.

    He said the palace would be willing to mobilise all quarter chiefs and residents of Lagos Island to work with the task force, when constituted.

  • N1b power equipment rust at bonded terminals

    N1b power equipment rust at bonded terminals

    The Federal Government may probe the N1 billion power equipment abandoned at bonded terminals in Lagos, The Nation has learnt.

    Their abandonment is believed to have stalled the power projects in some states.

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transportation said over 200 containers laden with the equipment belonging to the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) were abandoned at various bonded terminals in Lagos.

    The equipment is worth over N1 billion, the official said, noting that had they been installed, there would have  been improvement in power supply.

    About 80 of the containers, findings revealed, have been abandoned at a particular bonded terminal for over six years.

    A senior official of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS),who pleaded not to be named, said the remaining 120 containers littered other bonded terminals in the nation’s commercial capital. The official alleged that some of the equipment imported by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are rusting at the terminals.

    “The practice of abandoning power equipment at these terminals is pure economic sabotage and the Federal Government must treat the officials responsible for the act as such, because the country, in the last two years, imported electricity equipment and tools valued at about $6.71 billion from China and other countries to boost power supply in the country.

    “The equipment included electric power generators, transformers, circuit breakers, switchboards, conductors, power capacitors, power converters and electricity meters. Others include distribution boards, power plant valves, power storage devices, switchgears, turbines and voltage regulators. Figures from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) showed that some power equipment valued at $2.89 billion were shipped from China to Nigeria between 2014 and last year.”

    The official said other items that came from the US valued at $321 million are among the stockpile of abandoned equioment.

    Others are the goods from the United Kingdom with goods valued at $773.8 million; India, $399.1 million; South Africa, $230.3 million; Sweden, $260.4 million and the Republic of Korea, $122.5 million.

    The offical also said many of the containers loaded with electricity equipment lying uncleared at the bonded terminals belong to the defunct PHCN. Some of the containers were transferred to Ikorodu Terminal as overtime cargoes, it was learned.

    With this figure, the Customs official said, any official of the government who had the effrontery of abandoning power equipment bought with tax-payers money at the various terminals in Lagos must be punished to serve as deterrent to others.

    “Worried by the neglect of the power equipment, in July 2014, the Federal Government secured the release of 248 containers rusting at the Lagos and Tin Can Island ports to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    “The containers were meant for the Independent Power Project (IPP) and were imported by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Also, in 2011, the PHCN abandoned 250 containers, containing vital equipment to boost power generation in the country.

    “Of the containers, 140 were abandoned at the Ports and Cargo Terminal in Tin Can Port, while 110 others were moved to Ikorodu terminal as over time cargoes. Also, in 2015, some power equipment in 27 containers was abandoned at the Lagos Port Complex.

    The consignments, the official disclosed, were the remnant of the 69 imported into the country between July and August 2014. A source at a shipping line that ferried the equipment to the port revealed that the consignee of the goods, a Romania firm, Dextron Engineering Company Limited, incurred a demurrage of N100 million on the cargoes.

    “The company was contracted by TCN to handle power project in Kaduna. The source told this newspaper that the shipping line that allegedly brought the containers to the port had written several letters to TCN to clear the cargoes, but there was no response,” the official said.

    Also a senior official of one of the terminals where containers were abandoned who does not want his name in print said the government needs to probe and recover the abandoned containers to maximise resources and minimise waste.

    “These containers may remain in our terminal forever and nobody would be bothered unless the Federal Government takes the necessary action. The equipment belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria and it must be used for the benefit of the general public,” the official said.

    He said it was part of the expectations of the government that, by 2020, the country would have the capacity to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity. This would be a huge leap for Nigeria and the administration in the power sector.

  • Controversy trails Daniel’s N9bn power equipment

    Controversy trails Daniel’s N9bn power equipment

    In the twilight of his administration in 2011, the then Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, commissioned a 7.2 megawatts energy plant, to boost electricity supply to the state secretariat at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta and thus ensured that government business was not stalled by the epileptic power supply from the patently inefficient Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN).

    It was part of the first leg of the administration’s Independent Power Project (IPP) aimed at powering the proposed new Abeokuta Business District being conceived by Daniel at the time and to also help  power the state’s water supply equipment.

    But before leaving office, Daniel could not actualise the power project in full as over 30 pieces of the crated equipment were still waiting to be installed at some designated locations in the state when the administration wound up.

    Also, no fewer than 17 indigenes of the state were trained in China on the engineering, technical servicing and management of the equipment upon installation at Oke-Mosan by the contractor – an expatriate firm.

    Like the proverbial palm kernel shell on a domestic stone which continued to elicit questions from whoever sees it because he that cracked the kernel failed to rid the stone of the discomforting shells, Daniel’s power equipment which he purchased while in office is spewing up controversy between him and his successor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, barely three years after leaving the government house in Abeokuta.

    Recently, Amosun’s Finance Commissioner, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, gave insight into why the N9billion power equipment procured by Daniel’s administration are still lying idle at the car park of the state secretariat.

    Adeosun said aside the fact that the equipment were discovered to be obsolete, the cost of installing them coupled with the maintenance, would suffice to provide a better and modern power plant to drive socico-economic activities in the state.

    The commissioner spoke in reaction to a question on why the state government was desirous of procuring a new Gas Turbine engines whereas the existing power equipment bought by the previous administration remained unutilised.

    According to her, the government had even told the contractor of the equipment to source for buyers so that money realised from the sale could be used to buy modern power equipment such as the one in use at the Dangote Cement factory, Ibese, Ogun State.

    Adeosun spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, at the 2014 budget breakdown put in place by the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs Wande Muoyo.

    She challenged whoever that has confidence in the competence of the said obsolete power equipment to assist the government in getting buyers for it.

    Adeosun said: “when we came into office, we met the power equipment on ground. N9billion has already been spent on that equipment, they were asking for additional N5billion. In addition, they wanted N3billion to install it. When you want to spend that kind of money, you have to do cost benefit analysis, which we did.

    “We called in some power experts, they looked at the equipment and they said these equipment are about 20-years-old. To install it with N3billion, with that money you can buy brand new equipment which is going to be far more efficient than that average equipment.

    “They said if you have that kind of money, we do not advise you to implement these equipment. I’m sure you’ve gone past that power plant and seen the plumes of black smoke coming from the power plant. Go to Dangote’s plant at Ibese, look at the tiny, efficient, quiet power plant and that’s modern technology.

    “So, that’s why we took that decision and what we are trying to do is and we’ve told the contractor, look for somebody who can buy this and let us use the money to buy something modern. It is not new equipment; it is used equipment that was sold to us. We’ve already paid N9billion. If you have any buyer, maybe you can help us to advertise.”

    But Daniel who could not allow the matter to go quietly, fired back, saying the equipment were not obsolete as it came from credible manufacturers.

    Speaking through his media assistant, Mr Ayo Giwa, Daniel said labelling the equipment as obsolete by Amosun-led government is one its latest antics to discredit his achievements, believing they could wiped out.

    Daniel said: “it is totally unfounded and criminal to say that the power equipment were obsolete. They were purchased from reputable manufacturers, renowned for best practices in the sector.

    “As we speak, some of the equipment are generating and had been generating power at the Governor’s office complex including the state secretariat and the House of Assembly for an onward period of about three years (24/7 non-stop) and in some communities in the outskirts of Abeokuta, precisely where Day Waterman College was located along Siun-Sagamu Road.

    “So also is the fact that some of the equipment have been generating power at the Legislators’ and Commissioners’ quarters as well as the Presidential Lodge without any hitch for the past three years. It has also been used to generate power for street lightings within the city and it has proven to be in perfect order. It is just another way of hood winking the general public and painting the immediate past administration in bad light. If really they are outdated, good reasoning should inform them to return them to the manufacturers and get new ones and that is if they are in any way obsolete which is not true.

    “Since the employment of the equipment to generate power, it has never failed and this could be attested to by the general public especially those living or working in the areas mentioned. Saying they wanted to sell it out leaves much to be desired; it is sheer waste of state resources and another attempt to undo part of the legacies of Otunba Gbenga Daniel which has been the habitual practice of the present administration.”