Military, MDAs owe power companies N51 billion (Read full details)

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Babatunde Raji Fashola. PHOTO: Bellanaija

• Fashola, Okowa task DISCOs, GENCOs on regular electricity
• Operators need funds, says Elumelu, Transcorp Power boss

An audit report of debt by Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to power distribution companies (DISCos) has revealed an indebtedness of N59.3 billion by top 100 customers, like defence, military and security agencies owing N51 billion.

This was the communiqué at the 13th meeting of power sector stakeholders yesterday with the Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, hosted by the Transcorp Power Limited, Ughelli, Delta State.

The report stated that all verified bills would be recommended for payment on a first-come first-serve basis as a demonstration of government’s determination to lead by example with regards to payment for electricity delivered.

Although the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reported an improved compliance with submission of audited accounts by DISCos, the stakeholders said that NERC should more rigorously to perform regulatory duties.

In their comments, Fashola and Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa charged power generating companies (GENCos) and the DISCos to do more to ensure regular power supply to Nigerians.

They maintained that regular electricity is critical to the nation’s industrial, technological and infrastructural development.

Fashola also chided the DISCos for failing to strengthen their transformers, thereby leading to epileptic power supplies as a result of frequent breakdowns.

Okowa slammed the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) for the poor power supply in his state. He declared: “No matter what you generate, if it does not get to the common man, then it becomes a problem.”

Okowa charged all stakeholders to ensure peace in their communities to ensure peaceful operation of the power companies.

The Chairman of Transcorp Power, Mr. Tony Elumelu told the minister and governor: “We have two issues: one is liquidity. We want the minister to fast-track access to the Liquidation Assurance Programme funds. The second is gas. We want to do, but there is no gas. We can generate 620WM but due to poor access to gas supply we are handicapped.”

The power sector operators present included the NERC, managing directors and CEOs of GENCos, DISCos, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), as well as various government agencies such as the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) and other operators in the electricity industry.

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MOSOP, INC urge FG to compel oil firms to relocate to Niger Delta (Read full details)

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Delta wades into communities, oil firm’s rift over MoU
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Ijaw National Congress (INC) have asked the Presidency to enforce the relocation of multinational oil companies to the Niger Delta.

They said that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s directives to oil firms to relocate their headquarters to the region without a time-frame creates a lacuna that might be explored by the multinationals to evade the directive.

The President of MOSOP, Legborsi Pyagbara, told The Guardian that the presidential directive was one of the key demands of the people of the Niger Delta as espoused by the Pan-Niger Delta Forum leaders when they met with President Muhammadu Buhari last November.

Pyagbara stressed that government needs to ensure full compliance to this directive within a given time-frame.

He also advocated that opportunities should be given to qualified persons with requisite skills from the Niger Delta to head some of these companies.

In another development, the Delta State Government through the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has waded into the rift between host communities in OML 34 and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) over alleged refusal to comply with terms of the project global Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the domestic gas project by the oil company.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor, who presided over the mediation meeting, said that he was acting on the instruction of the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

He said the move was aimed at protecting the rights of the people as well as to create the enabling environment for investors to do business in line with the objective of the state government.

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Rivers will submit report on rerun poll to IGP, says Wike (Read full details)

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Nyesom Wike

• State gets new police commissioner
• Assembly renames RSUST to RSU

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has promised to submit the report of the judicial commission of inquiry on the 2016 rerun election to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

He made the pledge when the Chairman of the panel, Justice Chinwendu Nwogu, submitted its report to the governor at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

The panel was raised to probe the killings and other acts of violence that characterised the December 10, 2016 rerun and supplementary elections in the state.

While expressing doubt at the inspector general of police acting on the report, he said he was optimistic that the police as an institution would perform their constitutional duties.

He disclosed that the state executive council would, after deliberating on the report, issue the white paper on it for necessary action by the police.

The governor commended the judicial commission of inquiry for a thorough report, which included videos, testimonies and relevant accounts of all that transpired during the elections.

Justice Nwogu explained that the commission received 13 Memoranda and several exhibits, including expended bullets and also visited different locations to gather its evidence.

He explained that the report, which is in four volumes, captured all aspects of the commission’s assignment.

Though he did not disclose the content of the report, he explained that the recommendations were in line with the commission’s terms of reference.

However, a new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zaki Ahmed, has resumed in the state. This followed the death of the former police boss, Mr. Francis Odesanya.

Prior to this posting, Ahmed Magaji, had acted as the commissioner.

The new commissioner, who is from Kogi State, is the 38th commissioner of police in the state.

Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly has renamed the Rivers State University of Science and Technology to Rivers State University.

This followed the passing into law of a bill seeking to rename the earlier name of the Institution.

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Dealers, group differ over customs’ new policy on vehicle duties (Read full details)

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cars

Vehicles dealers in the country have restated their support for the recent directive by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to collect duties for cars and other automobiles of Nigerians who may have defaulted in payment of duties.

National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, who spoke to journalists in an interview at the weekend, described the grace period for the payment as an opportunity for all vehicle dealers and owners to pay duties on their vehicles to avoid losing them.

He said members of the association would take advantage of the duty collection window provided by the Customs from March 13 to April 14, 2017 as demanded by AMDON.

According to him, AMDON had suggested the mode of duty collection on vehicles to the Controller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali as a way of resolving the challenges being encountered by its members.

Adedoyin pointed out that car dealers who were the most affected by seizures of cars and other vehicles had established a partnership with the Customs over the years.

He added that the dealers established a rapport with the Customs to save themselves from losses, arrests and embarrassment occasioned by default in payment of vehicles duties.

“Some of our members were arrested and detained in the past by the police after they sold vehicles that were eventually seized by Customs for non payment of duties. Some of the vehicles, for which our members were arrested, belonged to Nigerians abroad and some importers who only use our sales outlets to market and sell them off.

“Months after such sales were made the buyers will come with police officers to arrest car dealers for selling vehicles without genuine papers. The buyer, with the support of the police, will then be demanding for refunds of total amount spent in buying the vehicle whose money the car dealer had remitted to the actual owners after collecting a commission of less than 5% of the sum,” he explained.

He urged those with vehicles without proof of duty payments to take advantage of the opportunity to pay up the duties. There has been mixed reactions from Nigerians over Customs directive that all vehicles without proofs of duty payment should do so between March 13 and April 14, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRS) has lauded the National Assembly over its invitation to the Comptroller-General of the Customs, Hameed Ali, to appear before it on Wednesday.

While condemning the new vehicle duties policy, the group said the invitation extended to the Customs boss would sanitise the system and ameliorate the sufferings of the people.

A statement by its Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, commended members of the eight Senate, particularly Senator Dino Malaye and Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah for standing up against what it described as the illegal and anti-people policy of the service.

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Nigeria-born John Oyebode lifts Italy at ITTF Junior Open…See full details

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Nigerian-born John Oyebode is seen as part of the future of Italian table tennis.

Nigerian-born Italian, John Oyebode was in superb form at the just concluded 2017 ITTF Italian Junior and Cadet Open in Lignano, where the 15-year-old claimed two gold medals in the cadet event of the championship.

Oyebode, whose father, Michael, was part of the Nigerian coaching crew to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, partnered Matteo Gualdi to beat Czech Republic’s Simon Belik and Tomas Martinko 11-9, 9-11, 15-17, 11-9, 11-8 (3-2) to claim the gold in the cadet boys doubles.

He also paired Matteo Gualdi to overcome Belgium 3-0 in the cadet boys’ team event.

Despite not playing beyond the second round of the singles event in the cadet boys, Oyebode shone like a star for his adopted country in the junior boys singles as he worked his way into the last four of the event where he was beaten in the semifinal by compatriot, Antonio Amato.

The bespectacled star was seeded number three in the cadet boys and after making the podium in the boys singles, he said, “after the bronze in the Junior Boys’ Singles, the first podium in single in my life, I want another medal.”

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C&S leaders at The Guardian, urge support for Buhari (Read full details)

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President Muhammadu Buhari

The Chairman and General Leader of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church (C&S), Surulere District, Lagos, Prophet Sunday Funsho Korode, has urged Nigerians to support and pray for President Muhammadu Buhari.

Korode made the appeal when he led other leaders of the church to The Guardian’s corporate office at Isolo, Lagos.He commended the Buhari-led administration in the fight against corruption, describing the regime as a sign of hope for the nation.

The cleric, who was received by the Executive Editor, Abraham Ogbodo, said he was at The Guardian to announce the second yearly public lecture of the church’s late leader, Apostle Gabriel Fakeye. The lecture held last Saturday.

He said: “We want to use this medium to pray for Buhari so that he could continue with the good work that he had started with members of his cabinet.

“We also commend his effort over the years in having the courage to challenge the hydra- headed corruption in the country.” While urging Nigerians to join in the fight against corruption, he stressed: “If every individual decides to build a culture of excellence, the nation would be transformed, especially as corruption cannot be legislated against but frontally addressed.

Korode said the public lecture also coincided with Faleke’s posthumous birthday.Worried about the incessant kidnapping and armed robbery in the country, Korode appealed to government at all levels to address the issues.

He urged the authorities to focus their attention on the criminalities on the Ore, Lagos and Akure roads among others.The cleric called on credible Nigerians to participate in politics, adding, “If we fold our hands, evil people would continue to rule.”

Ogbodo commended the cleric and urged him to encourage its members to participate in governance so that the ruling class could be stopped from oppressing the electorate.

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Airlines at Kaduna airport insist on cash payment (Read full details)

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The new look of Kaduna International Airport on Tuesday (7/2/17) in preparation for smooth take-off of flight operations as Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja closes temporary for repairs.<br />

Passengers stranded, lack access to ATM, PoS, BDC

Air passengers plying the Kaduna International Airport (KIA) are facing fresh hurdles as airlines operating at the aerodrome are insisting on only cash transactions.

The newly refurbished airport, which also serves as an alternative to the closed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, is currentlyoperat without Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale (PoS) and Bureau de Change (BDC) outlets to serve international passengers especially.

Some passengers without cash to buy tickets or prior booking arrangements are left stranded at the airport. The development is coming at a time the Federal Government is working to ensure a seamless transition, as the airport is the only route to connect the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is the seat of the government. Besides, the cash-only syndrome runs contrary to the cashless policy of the economy.

The Guardian learnt that a family of six was among those stranded at the weekend and unable to travel.A traveller, Samson Akinsiku said it was shocking to find airlines rejecting debit cards, and saying there was no PoS.

“There are three of the airlines heading to Lagos almost at the same time, which is good anyway. To buy ticket became the problem. The first said its PoS was not working, the other two said they did not even have at all. And this is supposed to be an international airport?

“I didn’t know how big the shit was until I asked for an ATM and they said there was none around, except if I go to town some 10 to 20kilomatres away,” he said.

Another traveller, Emmanuel, also expressed concerns on services rendered by airlines officials at the airport, who insisted on closing the counter by 4:00 p.m.

Emmanuel, who travelled by rail from Abuja yesterday to catch a Lagos flight, was shocked to find the airline’s counter closed by 4:30p.m. When he insisted on flying, since the aircraft was still on ground and seats available, he was given a bill of N28,000 instead of N16,000 promo fare. Emmanuel got a hand-written boarding pass in exchange for the N28,000.

When asked why the airline had no PoS and the counter closed early, an Arik Air official said it was the norm around there.“That is how we operate here. We don’t use PoS. You either bring your money or forget it,” the official fired back.

The Communications Manager for Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said the development was unusual and they were doing everything possible to go cashless in Kaduna by today or tomorrow.

“We have been on this for a while. But it is the banks that kept delaying us. We pushed them all through last week to put the necessary things in place. We know its importance to making passengers have seamless travel experience and we will stop at nothing to have the PoS option working. If not tomorrow (today), then Tuesday latest,” he said.

The Spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henrietta Yakubu, also confirmed that the banks were in the process of beginning operations at the airport, to support transactions, whether cash or cashless.

Yakubu assured that the likes of Zenith, Guaranteed Trust Bank (GTB) and First Bank were due to begin operations and open ATM facilities this week.
It was also learnt yesterday that the Nigeria International Trade and Investment Conference (NITIC) 2017 scheduled to hold this month in Abuja has been postponed.

The organisers, Africa International Trade and Development Trust, said the postponement was due to ongoing repairs on the runway of the Abuja airport.

The conference with the theme “Multiple Frontiers: Moving Away From Oil” is aimed at bringing local and international stakeholders together to discuss international trade and investment in the non-oil sector, focusing on agribusiness, manufacturing and financial services.

The event endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development initially scheduled to hold this month at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja would now take place in June at the same venue.

The spokesperson for the organisers, Sand Mba Kalu said: “Efforts to convince registered participants and embassies to use the Kaduna International Airport were not successful. We have talked to several of them but they seemed not interested in coming through Kaduna airport. So, the only option was to postpone the event to June when renovation work at the Abuja airport runway would have been completed.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Aviation School Project has commenced the training of all Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel in Nigeria.The training, The Guardian learnt, is to effectively mitigate the threat posed to civil aviation by terrorist organisations around the world. It will also provide a key element for a robust national aviation security policy to meet global standards in infrastructure, safety and security.

The initiative would enhance the capacity within the UN system to help interested member states to implement the multiple dimension of countering terrorism.

The 120-day event tagged: ‘’Train the Trainer’’ is simultaneously ongoing in Lagos and Abuja.The UN-initiated programme comprises 34 aviation security personnel from both Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). While NCAA has four, FAAN which provides security surveillance at all the airports has 30 participants.

The Spokesperson of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, confirmed that a total of 25 countries were considered and Nigeria was chosen for the pilot training.

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Militants seek probe into N11tr derivation funds for Niger Delta (Read full details)

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Militant group, Reformed Egbesu Fraternity (REF), has urged the Federal Government to investigate the over N11 trillion derivation funds

Want money paid directly to communities

A Militant group, Reformed Egbesu Fraternity (REF), has urged the Federal Government to investigate the over N11 trillion 13 per cent derivation funds accruable to the six states of the Niger Delta since the commencement of the payment in 1999.

Rising from its meeting yesterday in Yenagoa, the group enjoined the Federal Government to halt the payment through governors of the region.In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the agitators maintained that the channelling of the funds, meant for the development of oil-producing states, through politicians had only ended up in enriching a few pockets while the majority of the people remained impoverished.

The agitation is coming on the heels of the under-development of the oil-rich region amid the allocations it gets. There has been the argument that even without additional support from the Federal Government over the years, the lot of the Niger Delta could have been bettered if the state governments were focused and deployed judiciously the much they got in close to the two decades since the return of democracy.

The group, therefore, urged government to put in place structures incorporating only oil-producing communities as a way of rectifying the anomaly of the past.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Bayelsa State, however cautioned against such probe, saying that not all governors in the region squandered the funds made available to them. Publicity Secretary of the APC, Panebi Jones, citied political instability, militancy, pipeline vandalism and other oil and gas-related crisis in the region as the stumbling blocks to the effective use of the funds.

Efforts to reach senior officials of the Edo State government were not successful. But a source at the Ministry of Finance who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “Every year, the Edo State government publishes its annual financial report on the basis of what comes from the Federal Government allocations, internally generated revenue and other sources of revenue for the state and these have been conditions of transparency required by international financial institutions and this is why the state has been getting support from institutions like ‎the World Bank. So, Edo State has been transparent with its finances under the APC government.”

In the petition signed by its ‘General Officer Commanding’, Ebi Alagbakouriwei, REF argued that routing the funds through the governors contravened Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and item 39 on the Exclusive List.

He said: “We, therefore demand that the Federal Government stops the allocation of 13 per cent derivation to the state governors of oil and gas-producing states and pay the derivation component to the communities through appropriate structures.”

The group claimed that attempts by the communities to seek redress through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a lawsuit had been frustrated.

REF contended that till date, over N277 billion of the N11 trillion remained unaccounted for, alleging that the anti-graft agency had refused to take necessary action.

“The host oil and gas- producing communities reported to the EFCC that N277 billion remains unaccounted for till today. The EFCC bluntly refused to take action.

“ They took the matter to the law court in Delta State for the past three years. The case has never been heard till now.“ But it has been transferred from one judicial division to another, including Owa Oyibu, Asaba, Udu and back to Warri. The case has been perpetually adjourned at every sitting over the last three years”, the group further alleged.

It warned that defying its calls could aggravate the fragile peace in the region.It added: “ We wish to warn that the continuous indifference to this demand and appeal is an invitation to chaos and violence. In as much as we do not subscribe to violence in the resolution of our demands, we condemn the Niger Delta governors for the diversion of the fund for the last 15 years.

“The Federal Government should partner host communities and not state governors. In this connection, we commend Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the Minister of Petroleum for their commitment to the peace process and development of the region.

“ Consequently, we demand two modular refineries in each of the nine states producing oil and gas and the immediate cessation of the allocation of derivation fund to the governors.”

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Mild drama as minister of health refuses to answer question on Buhari’s medical tourism (Read full details)

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Minister of State Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire

There was a mild drama in Asaba, yesterday, when the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, frowned and bluntly refused to answer a question posed by a reporter as regards whether President Muhammadu Buhari’s sojourn in the United Kingdom was not a form of medical tourism.

Ehanire, who had just finished inspecting the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, urged Nigerians to shun travelling abroad for medical tourism, and should rather stay in the country and take advantage of the improved health services at the nation’s medical centres.

Ehanire lamented that it is not right, as unpatriotic Nigerians, who travel abroad in droves to seek medical attention for their ailments, spend so much money in hard currency.

He said: “We need to provide money for our hospitals to upgrade their facilities to discourage people from travelling abroad for medical tourism. We believe if we can offer more services, people will be less inclined to travel abroad for medical treatment.”

Then the bombshell, as a journalist said: “But sir, talking about medical tourism, the President has been away in the United Kingdom for medical treatment for over a month.

That is medical tourism. Don’t you think this is hypocrisy? People should practise what they preach. Charity, they say, begins at home.”Caught off-guard by the question, Ehanire frowned and turned to the next journalist, who was eager to ask another question, in a move, which echoes United States’ President Donald Trump war with the press.
Minister: “Next! Your question please!” he said, pointing to another reporter on the sidelines.

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Clooney blasts Trump as Huppert’s ‘Elle’ wins at ‘French Oscars’…Read full details

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(LtoR) French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay, US actor George Clooney and British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Clooney attend the 42nd edition of the Cesar Ceremony at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on February 24, 2017.<br />bertrand GUAY / AFP

Isabelle Huppert and her hit thriller “Elle” were the big winners late Friday at the “French Oscars” — the Cesars — in a highly political ceremony marked by Hollywood star George Clooney warning that freedom had to be defended in the face of Donald Trump’s US presidency.

“Courage trumps fear. Right always trumps might,” the American actor said before quoting war reporter Edward F Morrow’s famous condemnation of the McCarthyite Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s.

“Let’s not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must not walk in fear of one another, we must not be driven by fear into an age of unreason,” he said.

Watched by his wife, the human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, who is pregnant with twins, the actor said, “We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

“We have to work harder not to let hate win,” insisted Clooney, who was a supporter of Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, as he received an honorary Cesar.

“Elle”, a subversive thriller about a woman who not only takes revenge on her rapist but holds him in her power, won best film and Huppert, 63, the best actress award.

Her mesmerising performance in such a slippery and morally complex story has won her some of the best reviews of her career, and made her one of the favourites for the best actress Oscar on Sunday.

Another French Oscar contender, “My Life as a Zucchini” (“Ma Vie de Courgette”), won best animated film.

– Troubled estates –
With France’s troubled suburban estates again rising up in protest after two high-profile police brutality cases, “Divines”, a stirring story of the friendship between two young girls from immigrant families, also triumphed.

Deborah Lukumuena won best actor in a supporting role while co-star Oulaya Amamra wept as she dedicated her best newcomer award to her late father.

Her sister, director Houda Benyamina, took the prize for best first film, after winning the equivalent prize at Cannes.

The highly-political winner of that festival’s Palme d’Or top prize, “I, Daniel Blake”, also got the Cesar for best foreign film.

Its veteran British director Ken Loach used the occasion to again accuse his country’s Conservative government of “deliberate brutality” towards the poor.

The moving drama tells of a carpenter’s Kafkaesque struggle to get benefits after suffering a heart attack and being told by doctors he can no longer work.

Loach also appealed to French voters to reject the far-right National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen is leading in the polls for France’s presidential election in May.

“The extreme right always succeeds when people feel desperate,” said the 80-year-old leftwinger.

“It is up to the French to make the choice. But we, your friends, hope that you will reject the bitterness of the right,” he added.

The young director of the best documentary prize, Francois Ruffin, used his speech to excoriate French politicians for allowing manufacturing jobs to be delocalised to low-wage countries.

His fiercely comic film “Merci Patron!” (“Thanks Boss”) skewered France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, the owner of the LVMH luxury goods empire, and was one of year’s surprise hits.

The night’s other big winner was Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan’s hot-tempered family drama “It’s Only the End of the World”, which featured an A-list cast of French stars.

It won the 27-year-old best director, best editing and its star Gaspard Ulliel best actor.

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