The Nation Newspaper

Tag: POWER

  • Debt cripples gas supply to power

    Debt cripples gas supply to power

    The huge debt incurred by operators in the gas value chain, is hindering electricity generation and distribution in the country, the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Dr Ransome Owan has said.

    He said stakeholders were only looking at the issue of perennial gas scarcity from the angle of pipeline vandalism, without considering the financial bottlenecks affecting the transportation and utilisation of gas in the power sector.

    He said the issue of payment for gas used in firing turbines is becoming a challenge among stakeholders especially the gas producers, and power plants owners.

    Owan, who spoke during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said gas producers, power generation companies (GenCos) and power distribution companies (DisCos) have stories to tell on the issue of payment for gas supplied and utilised.

    He said: “If you ask gas producers how much they are being owed by power generation firms, they would tell you it is a lot of money. Also, the gas powered plants are being owed by DisCos, which do not have enough money to pay for the electricity they buy from GenCos. Based on this, the issue of debt affects all stakeholders in the value chain.

    “This means that gas pipeline vandalism is not the only critical problem in the power sector. The issue of debt, arising from inability of the operators to pay for gas is another major problem besetting the growth of the sector.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director,  Frontier Oil Limited, Thomas Dada, said further investment is required in the gas sector in order to ensure availability of the product to improve power generation.

    He said there are whole lots of problems affecting the growth of the power sector, advising the Federal Government, gas producers, and other stakeholders to work together in order to make the gas market stronger and competitive.

  • Uncultured power corrupts culture

    By his intense intervention in the controversy relating to control of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo, the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, demonstrated cultural progressivism, distinct from but connected with his political role.

    Through an October 11 statement that reportedly bore his personal signature, Aregbesola communicated cultural intelligence that was both correct and corrective. It was an official response to Nobelist Wole Soyinka who had announced his resignation as Chairman of the CBCIU’s Board of Trustees. It also mirrored Aregbesola’s interior.

    Aregbsola said: “In the interest of the public and the culture of our race to which Soyinka is passionately committed, he must continue in his capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre. Yes, Wole Soyinka has resigned but he himself has conceded the fact that the governor must accept it. We cannot accept the resignation even though we hold him in high esteem, because of the responsibilities attached to his chairmanship of CBCIU, which is beyond him and even beyond us.”

    He stressed: “It has to do with the culture and tradition of our race which we believe that the CBCIU is meant to preserve and promote…We call on all people of goodwill to prevail on Prof Wole Soyinka to kindly reconsider his position and avail us his world acclaimed knowledge, intellect, international network and commitment to black culture and civilisation,”

    There is no question about Soyinka’s exceptional creative capacity and cultural quality. In a specific and striking instance of his inspirational importance, when Boko Haram terrorists seized over 200 schoolgirls at the Girls Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 15 last year, the evil coincided with a timely three-day academic conference inspired by Soyinka.  The All-Comers Colloquium on Fundamental Imperatives of Cohabitation: Faith and Secularism, organised by the Soyinka-led CBCIU, in collaboration with The State Government of Osun, took place at the centre’s Auditorium, Abere, Osogbo in Osun State.

    The conveners said the colloquium was “organised against the background of perceived religious war by Boko Haram and tension in some states, for example Osun, where religious differences are being exploited to cause trouble.”  Soyinka, however, emphasised that the event should not be seen as just a direct reaction to the Boko Haram terror campaign which has escalated in the northeastern part of the country since 2009.  “The conference has been conceived in many minds for decades in the face of rising problems,” he said.  In his opening day speech, Soyinka had pointed out that “we cannot underestimate the religious inspiration”, suggesting that religious adherents could go to unimaginable lengths to further their cause.  Soyinka was proved right following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by the Islamist terrorists.

    This background has relevance to the current dispute over control of CBCIU, particularly because of Soyinka’s observation in another context at the colloquium. Focused on faith-based extremism, perhaps with his eyes on extremities in general, he noted: “The mind is where it started and ultimately the mind is where this disease will be cured.”

    To appreciate how a disease of the mind, or a diseased mind, might be a factor in the CBCIU drama, it is useful to reflect on an informative narrative by a former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who has gone to court to seek validation of his claim to the position of CBCIU’s board chairman.

    A revealing report of a press conference organised by Oyinlola, in Okuku, Osun State, said: “According to Mr. Oyinlola, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2007 took a decision to establish a Category Two Institute (on culture) in Africa, which, it noted, would be the first of its kind on the continent. “A number of countries in Africa showed interest. Nigeria was one of them,” Mr. Oyinlola said.  “To strengthen Nigeria’s bid for the institute, the presidency decided to acquire archival materials of renowned culture icon, Prof Ulli Beier and sent then minister of culture, Professor Babalola Borishade, to Sydney, Australia, to seal a deal with him on the matter. However, Beier gave two conditions which he said must be met before he would grant the request of Nigeria. These two conditions are, one, the institute must be sited in Osogbo where he lived and around where majority of the materials were gathered over the decades he was here.”

    Oyinlola continued: “The second condition was on who would preside over the board of trustees of the centre. Beier told the Federal Government delegation that he did not know the minister who visited, the same with the president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but that he knew Oba Moses Oyinlola, the father of the then governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. He then demanded that an agreement must be reached that Oyinlola would be the chairman of the board of the centre in his personal capacity ostensibly to ensure the protection of his vision on the archival materials. The Federal Government agreed to the two terms and signed an agreement with Ulli and Georgina Beier on May 10, 2007. It was after this that the Federal Government contacted and informed me of the agreement.”

    The following sequence of events speaks volumes about the power of the mind and the exercise the mind in power: In 2008, as governor of Osun State, Oyinlola signed into law the CBCIU Act which stipulated that he would be the Chairman of the Board for life. Four years later, with Aregbesola in the saddle as governor, the Osun State House of Assembly amended the law to state that the Chairman of the Board shall be “the Governor or anyone appointed by him for that purpose.”  Governor Aregbesola appointed Soyinka as Chairman of the Board in August 2012.

    In the first place, what was on Oyinlola’s gubernatorial mind when he endorsed a law that would make him a permanent chairman of a public institution, considering the impermanence of public office?  In the second place, what was on Oyinlola’s mind when he took the matter to court, considering the competence of the House of Assembly to effect legislative amendments?

    When cultural thinking is informed by uncultured thoughts, or when cultured thoughts don’t inform cultural thinking, it is easy for the powerful to fall into error based on confusion.  According to Aregbesola in his statement, “The issue here is not difficult at all.” He is probably correct.  All it requires is the conjuncture of cultural thinking and cultured thinking.

  • Debt cripples gas supply to power

    Debt cripples gas supply to power

    The huge debt incurred by operators in the gas value chain, is hindering electricity generation and distribution in the country, the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Dr Ransome Owan has said.

    He said stakeholders were only looking at the issue of perennial gas scarcity from the angle of pipeline vandalism, without considering the financial bottlenecks affecting the transportation and utilisation of gas in the power sector.

    He said the issue of payment for gas used in firing turbines is becoming a challenge among stakeholders especially the gas producers, and power plants owners.

    Owan, who spoke during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said gas producers, power generation companies (GenCos) and power distribution companies (DisCos) have stories to tell on the issue of payment for gas supplied and utilised.

    He said: “If you ask gas producers how much they are being owed by power generation firms, they would tell you it is a lot of money. Also, the gas powered plants are being owed by DisCos, which do not have enough money to pay for the electricity they buy from GenCos. Based on this, the issue of debt affects all stakeholders in the value chain.

    “This means that gas pipeline vandalism is not the only critical problem in the power sector. The issue of debt, arising from inability of the operators to pay for gas is another major problem besetting the growth of the sector.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director,  Frontier Oil Limited, Thomas Dada, said further investment is required in the gas sector in order to ensure availability of the product to improve power generation.

    He said there are whole lots of problems affecting the growth of the power sector, advising the Federal Government, gas producers, and other stakeholders to work together in order to make the gas market stronger and competitive.

  • Battle for grassroots power in Ekiti

    Battle for grassroots power in Ekiti

    An attempt to conduct the local government election in Ekiti State for the first time in seven years has been dogged by controversy. Correspondent ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the issues generated by the proposed council poll.

    Conducting local government elections in Ekiti State has never been a tea party. It has always generated controversy, acrimony and brickbats among the political gladiators whenever the idea is broached.

    The last local government poll was held on December 20, 2008, during the administration of former Governor Segun Oni, then of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The election was boycotted by the defunct Action Congress (AC), which was the main opposition party. The party complained  that the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) led by Major-General Kayode Oni (rtd) had only four members, which fell short of the minimum number of commissioners required by law; a minimum of five commissioners are required.

    The AC boycotted the poll, arguing that the constitutionally-required minimum 150 days between notice and conduct of poll was not complied with.

    The PDP coasted home to victory, winning all the chairmanship seats in the 16 local government areas and all but one 177 councillorship seats.

    The elected council officials were in office, until October 29, 2010 when they were sent packing by former Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    They went to court to challenge the dissolution of the councils and the case was still in court as at when Fayemi left office last year.

    The Fayemi administration equally made attempts to conduct a fresh poll on February 4, 2011, but the PDP secured a court injunction and stopped the election. The case was still pending when the government exited from power.

    One of the complaints of the PDP was that the composition of SIEC, which was led by Mrs. Cecilia Bosede  Adelusi, was that it was made up of  members of ACN/APC and loyalists of  Fayemi.

    Shortly after Governor Ayodele Fayose assumed office, he dissolved the SIEC alongside other boards, commissions and agencies (statutory and non-statutory) and the former office holders are still in court challenging their removal from office.

    Between late 2010 and now, the local government councils in the state had been manned by caretaker chairmen and members, thus denying people at the grassroots the opportunity of electing their representatives.

    One of the promises made by Fayose to the people of the state is that he would ensure that the election is conducted, to give the people at the grassroots a say in the administration of affairs at the local level.

    The governor while performing the swearing-in of commissioners in July declared that there would be a local government election “before the end of the year” to reduce pressure on the state government.

    He reasoned that if an election is conducted at the councils with chairmen and councillors in office, the number of people coming to Ado Ekiti, the state capital, “looking for one thing or the other” will be reduced, as the elected council officials are expected to met some of their needs.

    To demonstrate his seriousness towards conducting the election, Fayose on August 28 inaugurated SIEC, by swearing-in a new set of officials to run the agency.

    Speaking on the plan of his administration to hold the election “within the shortest possible time”, Fayose challenged anybody who has anything against the newly-sworn-in SIEC chairman and commissioners to come out with any proof, saying that he would not hesitate to remove such an erring individual.

    The new SIEC is led by former Chief Judge, Justice Kayode Bamisile, who came to national prominence during the 2006 impeachment saga in the state.

    Other SIEC commissioners are Mrs. Victoria Funke Adeyera, Alhaji Ganiyu Bello, Mrs. Mojisola Florence Bankole, Mr. Rufus Sunday Olaiya and Mr. Vincent Olajide Adeyeye.

    Bamisile assumed office on August 31, with a pledge to conduct credible, free and fair local government elections in few months time. Subsequently, he and other commissioners held an inaugural meeting with the staff of the agency, to seek their cooperation towards ensuring a successful tenure.

    He said the commission would be  fair to all political parties and  other stakeholders and that he would abide by the guidelines stipulated for the election in the electoral law.

    According to him, the election would not be in an atmosphere of fear, favour or bias. In other words, it would pass the test of credibility usually demanded by local and foreign observers.

    The SIEC boss charged political parties, politicians and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully, to ensure that the result of the poll is accepted by all stakeholders. He also appealed to the media to support efforts to conduct a free, fair and credible local government elections in the state.

    The former Chief Judge urged the media to partner with the commission to deliver a local government election that would be acceptable to stakeholders and deepen democracy at the grassroots.

    Just as the Justice Bamisile-led SIEC was settling down to conduct the election, the opposition APC alleged that the chairman and other commissioners cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair poll. The APC described the SIEC officials as “PDP card-carrying members, associates and business partners of Fayose.”

    Bamisile not only debunked the allegation, but also maintained that he and other SIEC members “are people of unquestionable integrity.” He challenged anyone with any shred of evidence that they are members of the PDP or loyalists and business partners of the governors to come out with same.

    According to the guideline,  electioneering campaigns would commence on Monday September 28, 2015 and political parties are expected to hold ward congresses to elect their councillorship and chairmanship candidates by Saturday October 3 and 10 respectively.

    Similarly, the collection of nomination forms are expected to commence on Tuesday October 13, and the forms are to be submitted on or before Monday October 19.

    Checking and verification of particulars of candidates would run from Tuesday October 26 to Saturday October 31, while the results of the screening would be out on Monday November 2, with the parties having a day of grace for substitution of any unqualified candidate.

    Other highlights of the timetable include submission of Nomination Forms on Tuesday November 10, publication of list of candidates by Tuesday November 17. Parties have the opportunity to withdraw their nominations latest by Thursday November 19 and names of candidates for polling agents are to be submitted to SIEC on Wednesday November 25.

    Stressing that Electioneering campaigns would end on Thursday December 17, Bamisile emphasized that the elections would hold on Saturday December 19, 2015.

    But, determined to prove its allegation that the Bamisile-led SIEC is composed of partisan officials, the APC has filed a suit at an Ado Ekiti High Court. In the suit, the APC said empanelling  a SIEC made up of alleged PDP chieftains  was”illegal and an invitation to chaos”.

    In the suit, filed by its counsel, Abiodun Fasakin and Tajudeen Akingbolu, the party said the composition of the electoral body contradicted the constitutional requirement for a non-partisan electoral body that could organise credible elections that would be acceptable to all contesting parties.

    The APC alleged that Justice  Bamisile and commission members — Victoria Olufunke Adeyera, Ganiyu Bello, Mojisola Florence Bankole, Rufus Sunday Olaiya and  Olajide Vincent Adeyeye — are PDP members.

    Other defendants include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and the House of Assembly. In the Originating Summons before the State High Court, Ado-Ekiti, the defendants are to appear before the court within seven days after service of the summons on them.

    The court is expected to determine whether by the combined effect of Sections 197, 199 (1)(c) and 200 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the purported appointment of the 5th to 10th Defendants as Chairman and members of the 3rd Defendant is not null, void, illegal and unconstitutional; whether by virtue of Sections 14(4) and 197(3) of the constitution the composition of the 3rd defendant is not null, void, illegal and unconstitutional;  and whether having regard to questions one and two above and the circumstances of the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants, the 4th defendant’s confirmation of the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants is not invalid.

    It is also expected to determine whether having regard to the hitherto composition of the 3rd defendant as made in 2011, which tenure is still deemed subsisting pursuant to Section 199 (1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the appointment and confirmation of appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants by the 1st and 4th defendants, is not invalid; whether a member of a registered political party, which party is having interest in a pending election to local councils, is eligible to be appointed as member(s) and/or chairman of the 3rd defendant for the purpose of conducting local councils’ elections in Ekiti State; and whether the 1st and 4th defendants can appoint and/or confirm the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants thereby reconstituting the 3rd defendant during the pendency of a matter involving the 3rd defendant before the Supreme Court in APPEAL NO: SC.695/2013: PDP & ANOR VS EKSIEC & 8 Ors.

    In its statement of claims, APC wants a declaration that the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants as Chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant is null, void, illegal and unconstitutional as it violates the provisions of Sections 197, 199 (1) (c) and 200 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999  (as amended).

    It also wants a declaration that the 3rd defendant as presently constituted by the 1st defendant with the 5th to 10th defendants as Chairman and members, is not vested with legal capacity to conduct elections into the various elective offices/positions in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State.

    The party further seeks a declaration that the tenure of the hitherto members of the 3rd defendant as constituted in 2011 having not expired, their dissolution by the 1st defendant coupled with the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants is null, void and unconstitutional.

    In conclusion, the APC is seeking an order setting aside all steps and/or actions taken by the 1st, 2nd and 4th defendants in the purported appointment and /or confirmation of the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants. It also seeks order setting aside all steps and/or actions taken by the 5th to 10th defendants purportedly as Chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant, ostensibly for and towards the conduct of elections into the various elective offices in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State and an injunction  restraining the 5th to 10th defendants, their agents, servants, officers, whosoever/howsoever taking   instructions from them, from conducting elections into any of the elective offices/positions in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State and/or from taking any further steps or embarking on any further activities ostensibly for the conduct of the aforesaid local councils’ elections, under the guise of acting as the chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant, forthwith.

    The party noted that while it is ready to participate in the local government elections, due process must be followed in the composition of the State Electoral body.

    “The APC is not comfortable with membership of the commission most of who apart from being PDP card-carrying members, are friends and business associates of Governor Fayose,” the party said.

    No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit, which will go a long way to determine whether the planned December 19 poll will hold.

    Another factor expected to shape the destiny of the Ekiti local government election is the factional crisis rocking the PDP.

    The Tunde Olatunde-led faction which has 14 State Working Committee (SWC) members has warned SIEC against recognizing council poll candidates nominated by the faction loyal to Fayose.

    The pro-Fayose faction, which is led by embattled state PDP chairman Idowu Faleye, has been dragged to an Ado Ekiti High Court by the Olatunde-led faction, with the latter claiming to be the legitimate state exco.

    The Olatunde faction has forwarded a petition to SIEC warning the electoral body about the dire consequences of recognizing the candidates put forward by the faction backed by the governor.

    It threatened legal action against the state electoral agency, if it goes ahead to recognize the candidates produced by the governor’s faction, saying SIEC should be aware of pendency of a matter already in court.

    The petition dated September 21, 2015 and addressed to the SIEC Chairman, Olatunde and exco members loyal to him maintained that “Faleye and his loyalists are impostors and that SIEC should stop dealing with them on electoral issues.”

    In the petition entitled, Olatunde warned the commission against recognizing candidates of the PDP presented through Faleye, otherwise it would take legal action against the commission.

    Ekiti PDP had been rocked by factional crisis, leading to the emergence of Olatunde, former Vice Chairman (North) senatorial district, as the Acting Chairman, following purported resignation of Faleye.

    According to the embattled Secretary of the party, Dr Tope Aluko, Faleye, who succeeded Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, sequel to his appointment as the PDP National Vice Chairman(Southwest) in acting capacity, purportedly resigned as chairman due to irreconcilable differences with SWC members.

    In the same way, Faleye, a close ally of Fayose claimed that his appointment had been confirmed by State Executive Council , just as he refuted the allegation of his resignation, insisting that he remains the authentic chairman.

    In a bid to assert itself, Faleye’s faction had set up disciplinary committee, which indicted Olatunde’s group of anti-party and gross misconduct and about five members in that faction were expelled from the party.

    The process leading to the emergence of PDP candidates generated controversies with some party members alleging imposition of candidates by the governor and his faction.

    Aggrieved aspirants alleged that the process could not pass for a credible primary as it was allegedly skewed in favour of the loyalists of Fayose, especially those who followed him to the Labour Party (LP) and came back with him to the PDP.

    With this state of affairs, the PDP does not appear to be ready for the polls.

    Meanwhile, legal fireworks will soon begin on the suit filed by the APC. Residents of Ekiti are waiting with bated breath to see how the numerous hurdles before the election would be overcome.

     

  • Debt cripples gas supply to power

    The huge debt incurred by operators in the gas value chain, is hindering electricity generation and distribution in the country, the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Dr Ransome Owan has said.

    He said stakeholders were only looking at the issue of perennial gas scarcity from the angle of pipeline vandalism, without considering the financial bottlenecks affecting the transportation and utilisation of gas in the power sector.

    He said the issue of payment for gas used in firing turbines is becoming a challenge among stakeholders especially the gas producers, and power plants owners.

    Owan, who spoke during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said gas producers, power generation companies (GenCos) and power distribution companies (DisCos) have stories to tell on the issue of payment for gas supplied and utilised.

    He said: “If you ask gas producers how much they are being owed by power generation firms, they would tell you it is a lot of money. Also, the gas powered plants are being owed by DisCos, which do not have enough money to pay for the electricity they buy from GenCos. Based on this, the issue of debt affects all stakeholders in the value chain.

    “This means that gas pipeline vandalism is not the only critical problem in the power sector. The issue of debt, arising from inability of the operators to pay for gas is another major problem besetting the growth of the sector.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director,  Frontier Oil Limited, Thomas Dada, said further investment is required in the gas sector in order to ensure availability of the product to improve power generation.

    He said there are whole lots of problems affecting the growth of the power sector, advising the Federal Government, gas producers, and other stakeholders to work together in order to make the gas market stronger and competitive.

  • Staying power has its price

    Staying power has its price

    Six months ago, there was trepidation in the air as a result of the elections. The fear some felt emanated from the 17-page summary of the outcome of a one-day conference of “US experts on Africa” convened in January 2005 and sponsored by the United States of America’s National Intelligence Council to discuss likely trends in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next 15 years. This document titled, ‘Mapping Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future’ is available on the Internet.

    Prior to that, it was widely reported that the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA), predicted that Nigeria would no longer be in existence by 2015. The “CIA” got knocks and bashing from most Nigerians who rubbished the ‘prediction.’ But when the Boko Haram (BH) insurgency started, some started taking the ‘prediction’ serious.

    Not even the denial by the former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley was able to douse the flame of the report. McCulley had said in an interaction with Journalists in Ibadan that:  “No US government official predicted that Nigeria will break up by 2015. I must state…that the US is interested in Nigeria as a very important country in Africa. We have been impressed by the role played by Nigeria in the peace process in the sub-region and even beyond.”

    All this, as the saying goes, is now water under the bridge. The election has long come and gone but the hard task now is how do we move forward? Without doubt, it should be clear to Nigerians that we are not in a sprint, but a marathon and as we know with marathons, it takes staying power and guts for you to win. To win a marathon you need long years of rigorous physical training; it’s not a piece of cake, it demands hard work.

    This is where we find ourselves today; we may just be at the starting point of a long journey that will require transparent leadership, sacrifice, dedication and most importantly, staying power. But if I know the average Nigerian well, staying power is what he lacks. He wants his own “share” of anything now and won’t want it deferred for “future generations” even though they maybe his children and grandchildren.

    It would be naïve to blame him. He looks around and sees someone he knows too well suddenly become an overnight multi-millionaire because he is “connected” to a power broker. So talking about staying power to such individual would be tantamount to speaking to the wind. The big challenge then is how to convince such sceptic that there is the possibility that things may turn around positively in his generation.

    I listened to the catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah raising pertinent questions when he presented a paper at the Platform organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos on Independence Day. The summary of what he said in his paper was that things may not be as easy as it looks. He captured my thoughts succinctly.

    “We have moved a step further by saying that if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us. I consider most of this analysis a bit shallow, lacking in a serious understanding of how societies and human nature work in semi-primitive society such as ours. My argument therefore is to say that, no, we should not be talking of fighting corruption, rather, we should see corruption as a symptom of something that is intrinsically wrong with our society, the loss of the moral centre of gravity of our society.” He wrote.

    He added that if corruption is so evil, how come we are so much at peace with it? If corruption is so rotten, how come we all seem to enjoy its company? What are the agencies for corruption? What capacity do they have? Are they above the fray or are they also caught up in the same web of corruption?

    Not done yet, he raised these pertinent questions: why did we not win the war against indiscipline? Why did we not win the war against illiteracy? Why did we not win the war against hunger despite Operation Feed the Nation? Why did we not win the war against armed robbery? Why did not win the war against poverty? Why did we not win the war against insecurity? What makes us confident that we will win this war? Should it not be clear to us that there is more than meets the eye?

    Pessimism aside, one thing is crystal clear: majority of Nigerians want a country that works, a country that respects and provides for her citizens, a country that will not shirk away from its moral responsibilities, a country where labour and innovation are fairly and appropriately rewarded and many more.

    This, no doubt, is the ideal the living hope to see during their lifetime. To be realistic however, changing the Nigerian will be the most difficult task of all; it will require more than a president that wants things done the right way; but it’s a good starting point. But it must go hand in hand with a radical moral and values reorientation; a tough call considering how deep the rot in the system has eaten deep.

    Four days after listening to Bishop Kukah, I read an “open letter” written by “concerned members” of a popular church in Nigeria which was published as a full page advertorial in a national newspaper. The “concerned members” said they were “greatly disturbed” that the said church “imported chairs from USA, fully aware that this item was prohibited by law.” The letter alleged that “these chairs were falsely declared as ‘Holy Bibles’ ostensibly to evade inspection by the Nigerian Customs and payment of appropriate duty.”

    Was I shocked by the allegations made? I was partially. I said partially because we’ve heard such stories in the past where the house of God was turned to the house of mammon. This is not to say such things don’t happen elsewhere, they do. But in those climes citizens rise beyond emotion to question certain things; and I must add, it is not sinful to do that, we have to be accountable to one another if a new Nigeria must emerge. That includes even questioning religious authorities.

    It’s admissible that some people could be mischievous if they have axes to grind, but it is also possible that the “concerned members” may have explored all available channels to be heard and were silenced. Whichever way, it doesn’t speak well of the said church. Nonetheless, it would have gladdened my heart if those making the allegation were bold enough to identify themselves rather than hiding under the banner of “concerned members.”  This does not foreshadow the possibility that strange things do not happen in some religious circles.

    Contrast this with another report in which a popular church in the USA opened a website to solicit for funds to buy a new jet for its founder because “the former jet is old and almost crashed recently.” The church was forced to pulldown the site after thousands of negative comments were posted; some even wishing the founder had died in a crash! Majority of the comments drew the church’s attention to homeless and hungry people who are just asking for what to eat and a place to lay their heads.

    That is the difference between the USA and Nigeria. While American citizens freely speak out against injustice, no matter where it is perpetuated, it only takes a few bold Nigerians to say anything negative against the religious authority in the country, even when such leaders are caught with their hands in the till. The lesson here is that we should not only focus our gaze on political leadership; spiritual and moral leadership are equally as important in our march forward.

    You can see why the journey ahead will be a marathon and not a sprint; it will entail imbibing new and more accountable ways of doing things; but this in itself won’t be enough if it does not cut across board. Leaders must lead the way transparently and honestly. It is only by so doing that any form of sacrifice would make meaning to Nigerians who are ready to play their part for the common good if they see a clear reason to do so. Does such reasoning presently exist?

     

     

     

  • Debt cripples gas supply to power

    Debt cripples gas supply to power

    The huge debt incurred by operators in the gas value chain, is hindering electricity generation and distribution in the country, the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Dr Ransome Owan has said.

    He said stakeholders were only looking at the issue of perennial gas scarcity from the angle of pipeline vandalism, without considering the financial bottlenecks affecting the transportation and utilisation of gas in the power sector.

    He said the issue of payment for gas used in firing turbines is becoming a challenge among stakeholders especially the gas producers, and power plants owners.

    Owan, who spoke during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said gas producers, power generation companies (GenCos) and power distribution companies (DisCos) have stories to tell on the issue of payment for gas supplied and utilised.

    He said: “If you ask gas producers how much they are being owed by power generation firms, they would tell you it is a lot of money. Also, the gas powered plants are being owed by DisCos, which do not have enough money to pay for the electricity they buy from GenCos. Based on this, the issue of debt affects all stakeholders in the value chain.

    “This means that gas pipeline vandalism is not the only critical problem in the power sector. The issue of debt, arising from inability of the operators to pay for gas is another major problem besetting the growth of the sector.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director,  Frontier Oil Limited, Thomas Dada, said further investment is required in the gas sector in order to ensure availability of the product to improve power generation.

    He said there are whole lots of problems affecting the growth of the power sector, advising the Federal Government, gas producers, and other stakeholders to work together in order to make the gas market stronger and competitive.

  • Power outage: Police arrest protesting youths

    The police in Ondo State have arrested 15 youths, who “protested” 13 months blackout in the southern senatorial district, which comprises six local governments.

    It was gathered that the youth are members of a group, National Revolutionary Vanguard (NRV).

    The group’s coordinator, Sayo Onukun, directed his members to stage a peaceful protest.

    As NRV members in Odigbo Local Government were preparing, some mobile policemen allegedly invaded their office in Ore and arrested some of them.

    The mobile policemen were led by CSP Adesina from the Ore Police Division.

    A police source said the arrested youths were cult members, who were out to disrupt the peace.

    They were later transferred to the Special-Anti Cultism section in Akure, the state capital, where they were “detained and tortured” before being released on bail.

    But Onukun said none of his members were cultists, addng that the police only acted in that manner to prevent the youth from protesting.

    However, NRV members from Okitipupa, Irele, Ilaje, Ese-Odo and Oke-Igbo were allowed to protest.

    The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions while singing solidarity and anti-government songs.

    Some of the placards read: “Osibodu restore our light”; Reverse the privatisation of NEPA now!”; “Enough is enough”; “People of the South are suffering”; “Where on earth do communities owe electricity bills?”;”10 months of blackout is hell” and “No to blackout in our land”.

    The youth blamed the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) for the blackout.

    They decried the hardship caused to their economic and social lives.

    The protesters noted that the electricity company claimed that the communities were cut off from the National Grid due to the alleged vandalisation of its infrastructures by miscreants.

    Last month, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) said the communities owed over N1.9 billion.

    The Chief State Head, Edgar Earnestin, said the indebted communities would remain in blackout until they settled their debt.

    He explained that the money was part of the accumulated debt incurred from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

  • Manufacturers seek clarifications on power supply operations

    • MAN commends Fed Govt for dropping planned VAT increase

    Manufacturers have called for clarification on the role of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Transitional Electricity Marketing Company. To them, it will ensure a lasting panacea to the challenge of erratic power supply stifling their operations. They made the call on the heels of firms suffering from epileptic distribution of power.

    Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Apapa Chapter, Mr. BabatundeOdunayo also joined on the call for government to be committed to investment  in power generation and supply to aid efficient management of the various sectors of the value chain.

    Speaking at the 6th business luncheon of the association, Odunayo lamented the hiccups in the sector, noting that the high cost of production of alternative energy source negatively affects the profitability of manufacturing operations and competitiveness of their products.

    He regretted that the chunk of indigenous Nigerian businesses are into retailing as against manufacturing, which they are meant to do, as a result of the unhealthy operating system occasioned by high infrastructure deficit.

    He stressed that for meaningful growth in the manufacturing sector the current challenges in energy and other infrastructural deficits must be effectively addressed.

    “Until now, the Nigerian industry has clearly not been efficient in meeting the needs of consumers. The irregular energy service being provided and its rising high cost have weakened the manufacturing sector over the years. This weakening emanated from heavy investment in own-generators, full complement of spare parts, use of expensive diesel and the investment in full complement of staff for the maintenance of generators.”

    Despite her stand as the largest country in Africa, accounting for almost 15 per cent of the continent’s population, Odunayo noted that Nigeria has the lowest per capita energy consumption (40Kw/000 inhabitants) when placed side by side to South Africa’s 270Kw/000 inhabitants and Indonesia’s 120Kw/000.

    He also expressed disenchantment in the transformation agenda wrought by the previous government, saying it planned to achieve 12 Gigawatts capacity in 2014, 14 Gigawatts in 2015, and 20.3 Gigawatts by 2016, but failed to meet the projections. He added that Nigeria still struggles with 4 Gigawatts.

    He urged government to provide a financially enabling ambience to revamp the sector. He said: “Unfortunately in an era where the country is financially crippled, so much investment is yet to be made in the transformation in regards to power sector. A lot of money is required and if investment is not made, you cannot expect magic to happen. We have the right transformation agenda, which are very clear with, but the financial capability to invest and expand capacity remains something that is eluding us.”

    Deputy Managing Director, Eko Distribution Company Plc, Mr. Ramesh Narayanan, said certain factors constrain the supply chain at the level of power generation, transmission and distribution. Some of the impediments, according to him, include inefficient cum outdated technology and dearth of national grid. “This is responsible for the bottleneck hindering access from power source to the point of use, hence resulting in poor quality of supply,” he said.

    He called for substantial investment and upgrade of facilities in the power sector and further  advised that plants with improved generation capacity should be situated in proximity to power sources such as pipe lines to reduce cost of operation and enhance efficiency.

    “Users should support the efficiency cause by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in lieu of fluorescent lamps, install capacitors when using inductive load, switching devices off when not in use and avoid illegal abstraction of energy,” he said.

    Governor AkinwunmiAmbode, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr. Olalekan Akodu, reassured MAN of its commitment to ease the process of doing business by removing all bottlenecks associated with business operations in the state.

    Praising MAN, he described the association as a front line stakeholder in the resuscitation of the manufacturing sector, noting that its official input is vital to the development and growth of the economy. He added that the government will seamlessly support their operations.

    In a related development, MAN has commended the Federal Government for dropping the planned increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT). Acknowledging the cancellation, the association said it was a timely move as the manufacturing environment remains unfriendly. “Increasing the VAT rate will, therefore, only exacerbate the challenges of the manufacturing sector as well as the cost of production and make local products even less competitive,” the association said.

    It continued: “Nigeria is a high cost environment with many challenges that have lingered on for decades. Manufacturers in Nigeria are faced with the challenges of providing own infrastructure, which in some states of the federation are subjected to taxes by the government.

    “A situation where a manufacturing company is forced to run on generators most of the time, is to say the least, unacceptable. This accounts for about 40 per cent of the cost of production whereas in some climes, these are taken for granted.  Lending rates in Nigeria, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), are about the highest in the world.”

    In a statement signed by the MAN president, Mr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, he said major challenges include infrastructure, cost, environmental and social challenges.

  • Power and Independence

    Once, in the Second Republic, while the then President Shehu Shagari was delivering an Independence Day broadcast on national television, an unplanned power outage occurred, knocking off power supply nationwide, inevitably interrupting the broadcast and its reception by the citizenry.

    When power was eventually restored to an embarrassed nation and long after the president had concluded the broadcast, an explanation for the outage emerged. It was that a snake had climbed up the tower members of a transmission line and bridged one of the phases and a tower member, causing a temporary earth fault that forced the line to trip.

    The Second Republic lasted from October 1, 1979 to December 31, 1983. But that incident, occurring over 30 years ago, is probably a good symbolic illustration of how long our political independence as a nation has yet to be complemented by freedom from the many natural, man-made and accidental causes of our lack of adequate and reliable power as a nation.

    For while we can be said to have received our political independence from Britain, our colonial masters, it might not be wrong to describe us as a nation still being colonised by darkness – the symbolic and summary objectification of our perennially inadequate power generation and supply .  And the result of this inadequacy, as we all know, continues to manifest as the chronic distress and underdevelopment of which we have only recently begun to see sustainable signs of their reduction with the relative stabilisation and improvement of power generation and supply nationwide.

    It is heartening, though, that President Muhammadu Buhari appreciates the challenges posed by this situation, like Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan before him – who, through their reformist interventions in the power sector, laid the foundation for the improvements currently being experienced in power generation and supply as a result of what some have – I think rightly – termed President Buhari’s “body language” or the Buhari effect.

    To drive home the fact of the recent improvement with a combination of facts and symbolism: The peak power generation value in the country on October 1, 2013 and 2014 (our last and penultimate Independence Days before that of this year) was 3,166.6 and 3,687.9 megawatts respectively. However, from the May 29, inauguration of the present government, the country has recorded several new different peak generation values, i.e., 4,662 megawatts on July 29; 4,748 megawatts on August 25; and 4, 810.7 megawatts on August 26. Prior to this, the last peak generation value of 4,516 megawatts had been recorded three years earlier, in 2012.

    If the above progressive trend is sustained – as I believe it will – then we can expect to have inched further to freedom from our symbolic colonisation by darkness by generating more power on this year’s Independence Day than we did on the previous one. This optimism is founded on our having already maintained a power generation value higher than what we had on the 2104 Independence Day for most days in September, the month that precedes the Independence Day.

    However, even as President Buhari has repeatedly promised to give priority attention to power, the perennial lack of which he has described as intolerable, the real challenge, I think, is in sustaining the current improvement in power beyond this year’s Independence Day, and making it a lasting condition. This can be achieved if, beyond relying on the President’s “body language” as a stimulant for improved power, active steps are taken by his government to develop the power sector sustainably, such that the factors that make for improved power become features of the power system – factors such as quality personnel, reliable infrastructure, dependable equipment, efficient sectoral management, etc.

    Indeed, as the President was quoted as saying during a recent engagement with the Ministry of Power, “The problems besetting our power sector are not difficult to identify. Therefore, priorities can be easily set in order to tackle them. The problems are more with transmission than generation, and we equally need to secure the power infrastructure round the country.”

    So there is an indication that even the President understands that, to sustain the current gains in power, there is a need to reinforce his “body language” with multi-pronged action to develop the power sector and secure our decolonisation, as it were, from darkness (or the paucity of electricity) and the general distress and underdevelopment it continues to foist on our nation.

    But as even the President would admit, what has often been lacking is not the ability to identify such problems. It is the will – political and otherwise – to tackle them in spite of the vested interests that benefit from the dysfunction in our power sector. And I am persuaded that, beyond developing the power sector, it would require our leaders continuously sending a message of zero-tolerance to such interests through their “body language” for any improvement in our power sector to be sustained without the possibility of reversal.

    And by “body language”, I mean a psychological disposition whose impact does not necessarily depend on its being deployed consciously. For its can also be an unconscious expression and yet be no less effective as, I think, in the Buhari case and the power sector – the way a cat’s mere presence can check the harmful activities of mice, which are likely to react instinctively to the sight of the cat even without the cat being aware of it.