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How 20 out of 23 underperforming power plants worsen blackout nationwide

By admin

 

20 out of the 23 gas power plants are currently under-performing, leading to power generation dropping below 2000MW and causing blackouts across the country.

There are 23 power generating plants with 11, 165MW capacity connected to the national grid. These plants are managed by generation companies (GenCos), independent power providers, and Niger Delta Holding Company. Out of the 23, two are hydro plants.

Punch however reported that these gas plants are currently either generating below expectations, shut down due to lack of gas, or undergoing maintenance.

The affected plants include Omotosho units 5 & 6, Olorunsogo units 3, 4 & 6, Omoku Units 3 & 6, Omotosho NIPP units 3 & 4, Delta units 15, 17, and 18, Afam VI units 11 & 12, Olorunsogo NIPP unit 3, Ihovbor NIPP unit 2, Sapele Steam unit 3, Sapele NIPP unit 1, Odukpani NIPP units 1 & 3, and Okpai units 11, 12 & 18.

Jebba Hydro and Shiroro power generating stations are either out or have limited generation capacity.

Other affected power generating plants include: Omotosho units 3&4, Olorunsogo unit 1, Delta units 10 &20, Afam VI unit 13, Ihovbor NIPP unit 4, Geregu NIPP units 22&23 and Odukpani NIPP units 2, 4 & 5. These are out either because of fault or for scheduled maintenance.

The two hydro plants, Shiroro and Jebba, are also experiencing generation shortfall due to water management.

There were fault and technical problems in the country’s largest gas plant, Egbin, which took it completely off the grid, causing 514MW shortfall. In Geregu, the situation caused 230MW shortfall, with reported fault at Alaoji NIPP. Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Sapele NIPP, Omotosho NIPP, Omoku, Okpai, Afam VI, Olorunsogo NIPP, Geregu NIPP, and Ihovbor are also experiencing different constraints currently weighing down their performances

16 gas plants were however back on the national grid last weekend, with Delta Power generating the highest at 332MW. Also on the grid are: Rivers IPP (160MW), Sapele (53MW), Sapele NIPP (94.90MW), and Shiroro Hydro (122MW).

Power generation was placed at 1,936.90 mega watts from 3,647MW last recorded.

The Ministry of Power has said last weekend that there was a partial shutdown of the Oben gas plant to address the repair of critical gas processing equipment.
Special Adviser to the Minister of Power, Isa Sanusi said in a statement;

“The incident, unfortunately, occurred at a time when other power plants on other gas sources are undergoing planned maintenance and capacity testing.”

Spokesperson for Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, told the publication that the station currently got low allocation from the Transmission Company of Nigeria. He said the load allocated to it was a mere 240MW out of expected 861MW.

Idemudia said;

“This affects all our injection substations. For example, Alangbon TS (covers IKoyi, Keffi, Obalende and environs) is expected to be 135 mw but we got 64.4 mega watts. On the overall, instead of getting 861mw, we are given 240.1 mw. We cannot give what we don’t have. The only way out is to load shed so it can go round all our customers.”

The Transmission Company of Nigeria blamed the situation on a combination of issues ranging from gas constraints, fault, and technical problems within generating plants which caused persistent low generation and consequently low load allocation to distribution companies nationwide.

TCN said;

“This is based on the fact that TCN can only transmit what is being generated by Gencos and presently they are all generating below capacity.”

Patoma Admin by — June 6, 2022 in News 0
REA secures GEF, UNDP $2.9m electricity funding for rural women

By Favour Nnabugwu
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will provide electricity for close to 50,000 rural women under a five-year off-grid national power project with funding of $2.9million from Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The project was financed by GEF with $2.6 million and supported by UNDP with $300,000, totalling $2.9million
This was disclosed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, REA, Engr Ahmed Salihijo Ahmed at an event to mark the formal launch of the project in Abuja.
He said that the project which is titled ‘Derisking sustainable off-grid lighting solution in Nigeria’ will benefit  96,380 persons out of which 47,540 are expected to be rural women.
According to the REA Boss, there is a need for effective collaboration among stakeholders in achieving rural electrification projects.
He appreciated the financial support from GEF and UNDP and said that rural electrification is an indispensable component of national development. He called on the private sector for investment collaborations in renewable energy in the country.
He added that the financial support will go a long way in achieving the overall targets of the programme in line with the mandate of the agency and federal government’s commitment in powering communities across Nigeria.
The Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund, Dr. Sanusi Ohiare also elaborated on the objectives of the programme as well as its immense positive impacts on the socio-economic development of rural dwellers, and tasked the Technical Working Groups to ensure the project succeeds.
He also emphasized the relevance of the private sector in ensuring access to electricity, especially in rural areas.
 Noting that it would be almost impossible for the government to tackle the challenges of rural electrification, Ohiare commended the funding partners for thinking and acting in that direction.
The representative of UNDP, Mohamad Yahya, was optimistic the project will succeed considering the commitment of the partners and the zeal to achieve desired results.
According to the Project manager, Dr. Bala Tyoden, it was designed to develop a private sector-led technology value-chain to make off-grid renewable energy technologies such as solar lanterns and solar home systems, available to rural households who may likely not be electrified until after 2025.
He said “The main aim of the project is to promote private sector investment in sustainable off-grid lighting technologies by establishing a sound policy environment that facilitates the creation of a self-functioning and sustainable market in Nigeria.
According to him, “The project will directly support the implementation of the Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (2016) as well as the energy access targets in the SE4All Investment Prospectus.
The project rationale is underpinned by a novel approach to de-risk private sector investments in the market for rural decentralized renewable energy access.
Meanwhile, three components and outcomes have been developed to stimulate the uptake of off-grid decentralized solar technologies such as solar lanterns and Solar Home System (SHS) while UNDP’s de-risking approach would be adopted to as a catalyst for private sector investments in the off-grid rural energy market.
Patoma Admin by — May 26, 2022 in News 0
FAAC shares N656.6bn to FG, states & LGs …As revenue falls by N933 bn

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total sum of N636.602 billion to the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils.

This was contained in a communiqué issued, yesterday,  at the end of a virtual meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for May 2022, according the statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Office of the Account General of the Federation,  Mr. Henshaw Ogubike.

The N656.602 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N461.189 billion,  distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N166.522 billion,  the sum of N8.891 billion being Excess Bank Charges Recovered and augmentation of N20.000 billion.

The  total deductions for cost of collection for the revenue in the month of April was N29.609 billion, while total deductions for transfers and refunds was N147.651 billion.

The Communique indicated that the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $35.377 million.

From the total distributable revenue of N656.602 billion; the Federal Government received N257.611 billion, the State Governments received N201.256 billion, while the Local Government Councils received N149.251 billion.

The sum of N48.485 billion was shared to the relevant oil producing states as 13% derivation revenue.

A gross statutory revenue of N635.037 billion was received for the month of April 2022. This was lower than the N933.304 billion received in the previous month by N298.267 billion.

From the  N461.189 billion distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N217.412 billion, the State Governments received N110.275 billion and the Local Government Councils received N85.017 billion. The sum of N48.485 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13% derivation revenue.

In the month of April 2022, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N178.825 billion.

This was lower than the N219.504 billion available in the month of March 2022 by N40.679 billion.

From the N166.522 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N24.978 billion, the State Governments received N83.261billion and the Local Government Councils received N58.283 billion.

From the N8.891 billion Excess Bank Charges recovered, the Federal Government received N4.684 billion; the State Governments received N2.376 billion and the Local Government Councils received N1.831billion

The N20.00 billion augmentation was shared as follows: the Federal Government received N10.536 billion,  the State Governments received N5.344 billion and the Local Government Councils received N4.120 billion.

According to the Communiqué, in the month of April 2022,  Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Excise Duties increased marginally, while Oil and Gas Royalties,  Import Duty, Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) all recorded significant decreases.

Patoma Admin by — May 26, 2022 in News 0
Nigeria Immigration passes out 548 Cadets from Training School in Kano

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Nigeria Immigration Service ( NIS) has passed out a total of 548 Cadets from the Immigration Training School in Kano

The Cadets after a six-month period of physical drills and academic training.made  up of 132 females and 416 males got enlisted into the Service in August last year and were mobilized to the School for the mandatory training for Cadets sometime in November 2021.

Speaking at the Passing out Parade (POP) ceremony, the Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola advised the Cadets to chart a career path of honour, integrity and dignity as they begin a significant aspect of their lives noting that those virtues are indispensable especially in any regimented environment such as NIS.

He stated that one of the main reasons for their enlistment is for them to make useful contributions to the nation’s border security efforts.

The minister maintained that “without secure borders, no security measure can work because external criminal-minded persons can infiltrate the country and escape at will, if the borders are not well secured”.

He therefore, enjoined the Cadets to utilize the energy and enterprising spirit of the youths to make useful contributions into the ongoing reform efforts in the Service and should regularly strive never to let down the Service that has giving them the opportunity to serve.

The Minister was the Parade Reviewing Officer was represented by a Commissioner at the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), Maj. Gen. (rtd) Emmanuel E Bassey.

He maintained that NIS as an institution has consistently placed high premium and investments on staff training and retraining efforts.

“Our job is high-tech driven; we have highly sophisticated local and international publics to attend to and today’s dynamic world environment demands that Personnel of the Service must be nothing but top-notched professionals who should regularly demonstrate uncommon expertise in the ICT controlled world environment”, he noted.

The acting Comptroller General thanked the Federal government for the enormous support to the Service’s eBorder project and noted that the deployment of ICT solutions to complement border patrol efforts remains very critical to safe and secure border arrangements for the country. He reiterated the Service’s commitment to enabling an enhanced Border security and effective migration management structure and called on the graduates to bring out the benefits of their training in the school to impact meaningfully in their field operations. He assured of adequate rewards for good performances as well as appropriate sanctions for those that would do the contrary.

Earlier, the Commandant of the School, CIS Rano Sabo had stated that throughout the six months training programme the Cadets have distinguished themselves worthy in characters and conducts and so should be commissioned and admitted into the Officers’ cadre of the Service.

Patoma Admin by — May 25, 2022 in News 0

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

A Nigerian-born Irish politician, Rotimi Adebari, who was a former Mayor of Portlaoise, Ireland, is among 50 prominent people, whose panel decorates train stations, in Ireland.

This was revealed in a publication by Turtle Bunbury, an Irish author, historian, podcaster, publisher and public speaker
Bunbury partnered Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail to produce 50 history panels installed across train stations in Ireland with each panel telling a brief history of past events and people connected with each vicinity.

Bunbury partnered Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail to produce 50 history panels installed across train stations in Ireland with each panel telling a brief history of past events and people connected with each vicinity.
Good job Turtle Bunbury Histories and Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail with the Past Tracks initiative

“I remain appreciative to the people of Portlaoise for making the history of electing me into Portlaoise Town Council in 2004, and to my colleagues in the council, for pushing the boundaries and elected me the Mayor of the town in 2007, I say; go raibh maith agat!!!

Adebari was elected as the first black mayor in Ireland in 2007. He was born 1964 in Okeodan, Ogun State, and studied economics at the University of Benin
He is a convert from Islam to Christianity, he fled Nigeria in 2000, and made a claim for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.

His application was rejected because of a lack of evidence that he had personally suffered persecution, but he gained residency because his third child, another boy, was born in Ireland.

Adebari and his family settled in County Laois. Adebari completed his master’s degree in intercultural studies at Dublin City University and set up a firm called Optimum Point Consultancy

 

Patoma Admin by — May 21, 2022 in Metro 0
Why Prince Joseph kpokpogiri’s house was demolished – FHA, FCDA

By Favour Nnabugwu
The Federal Housing Authority FHA and the Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA have explained the reason behind demolition of the house belonging to Prince Joseph Kpokpogiri in Guzabe said it was an obstruction to the Abuja-Keffi bypass
The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Engr. Shehu Hadi who was in the team that visited the site, said the road alignment had been done long ago and FHA was duly notified.
Hadi noted that the road alignment which the demolished building obstructed, was designed to serve as an important bypass to Abuja-Keffi axis.
He added that any plan to realign the road because of the building would be difficult and not fair judgment to those that it would affect, considering that the demolished building was not in existence earlier when the plan started
This was the house before demolition
Officials of the FHA led by its Managing Director, Gbenga Ashafa who had visited the site of the building three days ago,  in company of some  top Management team of FCDA admitted that the plot of land originally belonged to FHA,  but denied that proper building plan was approved before the mansion was erected.
FHA affirmed that notices to stop work were served at different stages and time of the work, but Kpokpogiri refused to comply.
Also speaking, the Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima said the mansion, located in the highbrow District of Guzape, Abuja, was unapproved, and could not be allowed to over ride public interest.
Galadima noted that the Mansion sitting on a rock in the fast developing district, was an obstruction to a major road network connecting the popular Apo bridge to many parts of the city.
According to him, “FHA was duly allocated the Area in the district to carry out its Mass Housing programme.”
He however clarified that when the road network of the district was officially realigned, FHA was promptly notified that some plots of lands within its area had been affected.
Galadima added that FHA was ordered not to allow any further development on the affected plots as replacement plots would be given to them.
He also denied lack of inter-agency collaboration between FCT Administration and FHA, stating that all necessary communications were properly documented.
“There is adequate inter-agency Corporation, the Federal Housing Authority FHA approached the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA for allocation and they were given global approval and were asked to make sure that whatever they do aligns with the approval.
“The plot in question was part of what was in the allocation, but because of the importance of the road, we wrote to FHA, notifying it that a number of their plots had been affected by the realignment of the road, and that we were going to give them replacement plots.
“We told them that no development should be allowed on the plots, and this was around 2019. We came for site visit and had given them noticed. We even marked the building for demolition, but the owner cleaned it off”, Galadima said.
Kpokpogiri, the estrange lover of Mollywood Diva, Tonto Dike, claimed that the decision to pull down his mansion worth over N700m was an act of oppression.
He alleged that his house was demolished because he refused to sell it to some “powerful” but unnamed individuals who had begged him to sell the property to them, vowing to fight fervently to get justice.
Patoma Admin by — May 14, 2022 in Metro 0
A Nigerian Man, Jude Ihezie killed in Vietnam

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

A 39 year old Nigerian businessman an Igbo by origin identified as Jude Chigbo Ihezie, has been gruesomely murdered by unknown assailants in Hanoi, Vietnam

The businessman, who had lived in Vietnam for over 10 years and was married to a Vietnamese woman, was reportedly beaten and stabbed in the chest in his apartment on May 4, 2022.

Ihezie was a renowned businessman who had resided in Vietnam for over ten years and operated multiple businesses, including the export of various locally made Vietnamese products to Africa, according to reports.

Jude Ihezie was married to a woman from Vietnam and was survived by two children.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Vietnam, while confirming Ihezie’s death in a statement, revealed the father-of-two died on his way to the hospital.

“It is with great sadness that the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to VietNam, His Excellency, Mr. Adamu Hassan Mamani, inform you of the gruesome murder of a Nigerian, Mr Jude Chigbo Ihezie of Obowo Village, in Imo State in the morning of Wednesday 4th May, 2022 at an apartment in Ve Linh Village, Phn Linh Commune, Soc Son, Hanoi.

The Nigerian Embassy in Vietnam is mourning, and has confirmed and condemned Ihezie’s gruesome murder.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Vietnam, His Excellency Adamu Hassan Mamani said investigations were on, and every effort would be made to get to the root of the tragic situation.

Announcing Ihezie’s death on behalf of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Vietnam, Ambassador Mamani said:

Patoma Admin by — May 14, 2022 in Metro 0
UN adopts victim-centred approach to tackle terrorism

By Favour Nnabugwu
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has said the UN is adopting a victim-centred approach to tackle the terrorism in Nigeria
Guterres  who is on a two-day visit to Nigeria also vowed that perpetrators of terrorism in Nigeria must be held to account.
The UN Chief after laying a wreath in honour of the victims of the terrorist attack at the UN House, Abuja today.
It will be recalled that 23 UN staff and civilians and injured 16 others were bombed on August 26, 2011,
He said “On that tragic day (August 26, 2011) an appalling terrorist attack on the UN House left 23 UN employees and civilians’ dead and 16 injured. Those staff members who lost their lives are heroes who proudly served Nigerians through the UN organizations.
 “We encourage all Nigerians, who have endured similar violence in their own communities. In our victim-centered approach, perpetrators must be held accountable. We remain steadfast in our commitment for a peaceful Nigeria and for all people.”
 Guterres also thanked the government of Nigeria for its support in repairing the UN House which has enabled the staff to return.
The UN boss had a succession of meetings with several groups, which included Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline Tallen, members of the diplomatic corps, religious leaders, civil society organizations, women groups, people living with disabilities and others.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with the UN Chief, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, told reporters that his interaction with Guterres was on how to resolve the dilemma of a country full of talented people but facing a lot of problems.
“Nigerians are genuinely religious but we see around us so much corruption and outright wickedness,” he said.
He noted that it has become pertinent to interrogate how a nation that is rich but full of poor people, a nation that is full of talented people and yet hardly organized, even as he put that responsibility on the doorsteps of those in government.
He told the UN boss that Nigerians “are not satisfied with how far the rulers are dealing with the issues concerning us, the issue of poverty, the issue of insecurity, and the issues of social services. The government tells us they are doing their best and we say that their best is not good enough. We believe we can do better.”
On the lingering issue of herders-farmer crisis, the Cardinal said since the last ten years, the government has been struggling to address the issue of armed herdsmen, which has created a lot of problems including displacement of farmers.
He said “it seems the displacement is becoming permanent and the herders are taking over the farm lands and the government still claims they have no way of bringing things back to normalcy. The result is that farmers can no longer farm and we are facing the prospects of famine because the parts of Nigeria that use to produce a lot of food many of them can no longer farm.
 “We must admit that the old traditional method of cattle rearing is no longer sustainable in this day and age, because it has become a recipe for chaos. We must learn from how other people rear cattle and produce a lot of meat without disturbing anybody. It can be done and if it is not done it must be that some people are not ready to do the right thing.”
Patoma Admin by — May 4, 2022 in News 0
8 dead, 23 rescued as three-storey building collapse in Lagos

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

No fewer than eight persons have recovered dead while 23 persons have been rescued from the debris of a three-storey building that collapsed around 9.40pm on Sunday night at 32 Ibadan Street, Ebute Meta area of Lagos

According to a female resident, names are withheld, and the numbers of occupants trapped in the building are yet to be known.
Immediately the building collapsed, we began to call the emergency toll free lines 767 and 112 but they were not picking up their calls.”

It was gathered that it took the intervention of the past Managing Director, Adesina Tiamiyu who was contacted to get through to officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) before men and equipment were mobilised to the scene for the incident.

Confirming the incident, Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, PS LASEMA said on arrival at the incident scene, an old three-storey building comprising rooms and a parlour was discovered to have collapsed.”

“Further information gathered revealed that the incident occurred at about 10.56 pm with an undetermined number of people trapped.”

As search and rescue are still ongoing
22 males, one female were rescued alive out of the victims rescued two sustained severe injuries and have been taken to LASUTH for further treatment, while five males and three females were recovered dead.”

Rescued victim at the collapsed building

Patoma Admin by — May 2, 2022 in Human Angle 0
FG declares May 2 & 3 Public Holidays for Workers’ Day, Sallah

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federal Government has declared Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd May, 2022 as Public Holidays to mark this year’s Workers Day and EIdul-Fitr Celebrations.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore  made this know in a statement issued in Abuja today.

He said the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government.

The statement congratulated workers across the country on this year’s celebration.

“Ogbeni Aregbesola commended workers for their hard work, diligence and sacrifice, noting that their efforts are largely responsible for the greatness of the country and the respect Nigeria now commands in the comity of nations.

“Labour is the very essence of humanity. We are alive because we work and only the dead is incapable of working” , the statement added.

The minister enjoined workers to imbibe the culture of productivity, saying “the end of work is productivity. It is productivity that leads to satisfactory provision of goods and services and wealth creation. It is therefore the path to national and individual prosperity”.

He urged workers to raise the bar of their trade in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration’s drive to rev up the vehicle of governance and make all the people of Nigeria derive maximum benefit from the nation.

“The Minister also congratulates all Muslims for the successful completion of the holy month of Ramadan.
Ogbeni Aregbesola calls on all Muslims to imbibe and practice the virtues of kindness, love, tolerance, peace, self-denial, sacrifice and good neighbourliness, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him).

“The self-restraint, self-denial, sacrifice and deep spiritual consciousness that accompanied the fasting period should not end but be maintained and improved upon, in order to be a better person and true worshipper”, the minister advised all Muslims.

The minister expressed confidence that the security challenges in some parts of the country will soon be a thing of the past, noting that the government is putting determined efforts and all necessary measures in place for Nigerians to enjoy unfettered peace all round.

He assured Nigerians that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is fully committed to the security of life and property of every citizen and foreigners alike

Patoma Admin by — April 28, 2022 in News 0