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Enugu will generate, distribute electricity by 2026

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Enugu will generate, distribute electricity by 2026

Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah says his administration will generate and distribute electricity in the state by the end of 2026.

Mbah unveiled the plans to tackle the challenges of epileptic power supply to businesses and residents of the state on Saturday at a town hall meeting with various stakeholders.

According to him, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission will be inaugurated soon as part of measures to actualise the goal, adding that the state would explore opportunities provided by the power sector reforms to generate and distribute power to boost businesses.

He said, “Electricity is a major infrastructural requirement for industrial development. We are going to set up the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission as we tackle all legal and regulatory issues in actualising the objective.

“Working with the private sector, we shall generate and distribute electricity in Enugu by the end of 2026. We will build transmitter lines and handle the distribution of power.

“People can come here to buy and distribute power. Our desire is to ensure we have a steady power supply to businesses and households in Enugu.”

Mbah also spoke on the ongoing legacy project aimed at repositioning the educational sector.

He disclosed that the 260 smart schools being constructed in the 260 political wards of the state will come alive by 2025.

According to Mbah, work has already commenced in 160 wards while the remaining 100 will commence soon.

He said the smart school will go beyond primary school education and over a 12-year compulsory and free education to every child born in the state.

He added that early life learning is included in the smart school initiative, and with that, the children will be absorbed from nursery to primary schools.

“They will be exposed to the modern learning environment and this will see a transition from chalkboard to smart boards and our pupils will no longer struggle with notebooks as they’ll be given notepads for their lesson notes,” adding that “our children are at the epicentre of our plans for the state.”

The governor also said that his administration is building 260 type II health centres across the wards, and 30 such health centres have already been awarded, and 100 will soon be awarded.

He further stated that the current maternal mortality rate in the state is “unacceptable and we’re doing everything to bring it down and to help tackle this.”

He said his administration has increased the number of nurses admitted into state-owned institutions, and the schools of nursing are getting the needed face-lift.

Recently, there has been a widespread blackout and worsening electricity supply across the country.

Nigeria mourns victims of Moscow attack 

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Nigeria mourns victims of Moscow attack 

Nigeria, on Saturday, commiserated with the people and Government of the Russian Federation following Friday’s terrorist attack in Moscow.

Gunmen in camouflage clothing opened fire on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, the Russian capital, on Friday.

The number of deaths, including children in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, has reached 115, as reported by Al Jazeera.

It was gathered from several Russian media outlets that automatic weapons were used in what many have termed ‘one of the worst of attacks in Russia in years’.

Reacting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, in a statement, sent Nigeria’s sympathy and condolences to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

“We convey our deepest condolences to the people and Government of the Russian Federation on the tragic attack carried out at the Crocus Concert Hall in Moscow that resulted in the death of innocent people and injuries to more than a hundred others.

“The Government and people of Nigeria commiserate with the victims of this tragic attack and pray for the repose of their souls.

“We also pray for the quick recovery of those injured.

“At this challenging time, we stand in brotherhood with the government and Russian Federation and send our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Russian president, His Excellency Vladimir Putin,” he said.

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Expert seeks autonomy for state water agencies

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Expert seeks autonomy for state water agencies

The National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers, Dr Adeyinka Sobowale, on Friday, said granting full autonomy to state water supply agencies across the country will attract investors to the sector and help to improve access to safe drinking water.

Sobowale also said there was the need to develop a water resources or water supply master plan for each of the 36 states of the federation with a well-defined action plan to address the challenge of access to safe drinking water.

The Chairman of NIWE disclosed this during a press briefing held at Bolude Oyebolu Engineering Centre, Abeokuta, to mark this year’s World Water Day.

World Water Day is held on March 22 of every year.

This year’s theme is “Water For Peace”

He said 87% of the country’s population, translating to 179 million Nigerians, do not have access to safe drinking water.

Sobowale explained that the statistics highlighting the water crisis facing Nigeria were encapsulated in the 2021 Water, Sanitation, Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping, which covers 36 states of the federation and FCT.

He said, “This report shows that up to 87% (179 million) of Nigerians do not have access to safely managed drinking water service.

“This report also revealed that access to basic water supply services is available to 67% of the population while 68% use drinking water supplies contaminated by thermotolerant coliform at the point of collection.”

He explained further that to address this challenge of acute access to safely managed drinking water, saying, “government should give full autonomy to the state water supply agencies across the country to attract investors to the sector. This will require adequate legislation that will remove unnecessary interference in their operations

“There is also a need to develop a water resources or water supply master plan for each of the 36 states of the federation with a well-defined Action Plan for implementation.

“It has also become imperative for the states to establish water regulatory agencies to adequately regulate the activities of the service providers in their domain for quality assurance.

He said, “The theme for this year World Water Day is very apt in the face of the numerous challenges facing the development and management of water resources all over the world which more often than not result in avoidable conflicts creating a serious social, financial and environmental imbalance that affects everyone.

“I cannot conclude this press briefing without letting us know that water has acted as impetus to create peace or spark conflicts. Many unnecessary wars have been fought over water in many parts of the world.

“When water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal or no access to water, tension can rise. This is the reason why the government at all levels must be ready to explore every available opportunity, innovation, and collaboration that can continually enhance water supply and access to safely managed drinking water”

Soldiers rescue 16 abducted Sokoto children, woman

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Soldiers rescue 16 abducted Sokoto children, woman

The Defence Headquarters said troops of Operation Hadrin Daji have rescued 16 Almajiris and a woman abducted in Gada Local Government Aera of Sokoto State.

The According reports that some terrorists had invaded the LGA on March 9, 2024, and kidnapped the victims.

The DHQ, in a statement on Saturday, by the Director of Media Operations, Maj. Gen Buba Edward, said the troops with local authorities and government agencies worked together to ensure the freedom of the hostages.

He noted that the rescued victims had been handed over to the Sokoto state government.
The statement read, “Recall terrorists invaded and kidnapped 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman in Gada LGA of Sokoto State.

“On 21 March 2024, the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued these hostages.

“The rescued hostages have been handed over to the Sokoto State Government for further action. ”

Edward, however, said the military had extended its resources to find and rescue kidnapped victims in the country.

He vowed that the military would not rest on its oars until terrorists and other non-state actors abducting citizens are brought to book.

Edward said, “Additionally, the armed forces are extending all of its efforts and resources to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.

“These efforts would continue until they are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law. The military would not rest until all kidnapped hostages are rescued.”

Edward also noted that troops would deploy the same efforts to fish out those behind the death of its personnel in Delta State.

He said, ” Furthermore, troops are deploying the same effort to track down the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State on 14 March 2024.”
He said the banner of wanted persons would be deployed in strategic locations.

He said, ” Indeed, to curb the freedom of action of terrorists and the perpetrators of insecurity across the country, the military has released banners of wanted terrorist and their cohorts.

“The banners would be deployed in strategic areas across the country. The deployment of the banner is for ease of recognition and arrest of the wanted persons. The public is urged to cooperate and report, please.”

Minister plans local content bill for power sector

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Minister plans local content bill for power sector

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, says the ministry is planning to have a law that will promote local content development in the power sector.

Adelabu stated this during his official visit to Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited in the Ibafo area of Ogun State on Friday.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu’s government has decided to support local manufacturers to reduce their dependence on foreign goods.

“We will support and encourage local industries, those people that have taken the risk to put their equity and debt capital into production, we should support them. We also intend to incentivise them by allowing them to have access to cheap funds and long-time debt capital.

“Lastly, we will patronise them. When they produce, we must buy those products. That’s what will give room for sustainability in their activities.

“In the power sector, it is our choice to have significant local content in our projects and in our contracts. In fact, we are trying to work on a bill that will legislate local content for the power sector, just like we have in the oil and gas sector. That is the only way we can sustain local producers,” he said.

Adelabu, who said the ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet are always on the field, acknowledged the fact that the country is passing through a lot of hardship as a result of rising inflation, the removal of fuel subsidy, harmonisation of the exchange rate and the consistent devaluation of the naira that has led to increasing prices of goods and services.

“But we are not bothered. We are not depressed. We are not discouraged. You cannot have an omelette without breaking eggs; and without pain, there will be no gain,” he noted

The minister explained that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s inflation is attributable to import dependency.

“We are an import-dependent country. We hardly make what we consume in Nigeria. When naira loses value, it will be expensive to import things, and the prices will keep rising. The only way to prevent this is to become self-dependent and self-reliant,” Adelabu remarked.

He regretted that “The population that was supposed to be an advantage to us has turned out to be a liability.

“It should be an advantage because if we produce anything here, we have the market. With the population, we are supposed to create factories here and create employment opportunities. We shouldn’t be bothered about the price of the dollar to naira at all. But the way it is now, we are using that population to import from other countries that have created their own factories and employed their own people”.

He said it was one of the cardinal points of President Tinubu to start import substitution by supporting local industries to reduce the influx of foreign goods.

“Once we are able to satisfy local demands and still have excess, we will start pushing it offshore and start earning foreign exchange,” he added.

Earlier, the Chairman of MEMMCOL, Kola Balogun, urged the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for local manufacturers to grow.

Balogun said the company, which was created about 30 years ago, has since been manufacturing prepaid metres locally, designing the products from scratch.

He charged the government to optimise the local capability “to streamline our proliferation of all kinds of things coming into the country for us to grow.”

81-year-old Brazilian woman dies after surgery to remove 56-year-old deceased foetus

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81-year-old Brazilian woman dies after surgery to remove 56-year-old deceased foetus

A 81-year-old woman from Aral Moreira, Brazil, Daniela Vera, has died after undergoing surgery to remove a 56-year-old lithopedion, a calcified foetus, from her abdomen.

Daniela had unknowingly carried the foetus since her youth, with doctors dismissing her complaints of stomach pain over the years.

As reported by NDTV, on Friday, Vera visited a local health centre on March 10, where she received treatment for a urinary tract infection. Subsequently, she was referred to another hospital where she underwent 3D scans.

The scan was conducted after she was transferred to Ponta Pora Regional Hospital in the central-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul, following a generalised infection contracted from a prior visit to a hospital closer to her home for treatment of the urinary infection.

The scan revealed lithopedion, a condition derived from Greek words meaning ‘stone’ and ‘child,’ wherein an abdominal ectopic pregnancy becomes calcified around the foetus.

Despite having seven children, the presence of the calcified foetus went unnoticed until the scans revealed it.

Following surgery, Daniela was transferred to intensive care, where she passed away on March 15 due to complications from an infection.

Prior to the discovery of the lithopedion, medical experts had initially suspected cancer. They have since determined that Daniela had been carrying the deceased foetus in her body since her last pregnancy over five decades ago.

Dr Patrick Dezir, the head of the Ponta Pora Hospital health department, said: ‘When pregnancy occurs, it must be inside the uterus, but in some situations, pregnancy can occur outside.

‘That baby was not clinical, the patient did not have acute pain and did not have major bleeding and this diagnosis goes unnoticed and time will take care of that foreign body that was left inside the woman’s abdomen.’

Vera’s child, Rosely Almedia, said: ‘She was old and we are indigenous, she didn’t like going to the doctor, she was afraid of the equipment to take exams.

Vera had complained of abdominal pain since her first pregnancy when she was a teenager, her daughter said.

Rosely added: ‘She said so it looked like a baby was moving inside her belly and sometimes she felt sick, but we never suspected that it was that.

In 2013, something similar happened to an 82-year-old woman in Colombia. She had a stone baby in her belly for 40 years.

For many years, the four-pound fetus stayed in her belly until she had surgery to take it out.

Lithopedion is very rare, happening in only 0.0054% of pregnancies.

Akwa Ibom inaugurates bulk purchase agency board

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Akwa Ibom inaugurates bulk purchase agency board

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, on Friday, inaugurated the board of the State Bulk Purchasing Agency with a charge on members to ensure transparency and accountability as spelt out in the blueprint for the interventionist agency.

The board has Dan Akpan as Chairman, and Unyime Etim, as General Manager/Secretary, with Commissioners in the Ministries of Economic Development, Agriculture, Justice and Internal Security as members.

Other members of the board are; the State Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Economic Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Uduakobong Inam, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Market Matters, Akparawa Idorenyin Raphael, Mrs. Affiong Ibanga representing Akwa Ibom State Chamber of Commerce, and Comrade Dominic Abang representing Labour.

Inaugurating the board at the State Executive Council Chamber, Eno said the establishment of the agency was in furtherance of his administration’s intervention to avail the needy and most vulnerable in the state staple food items at no cost, considering the tough economic conditions across the nation.

He thanked the state House of Assembly under the leadership of Udeme Otong for aligning with the vision of the executive by giving the Bulk Purchase Agency Bill the due importance through speedy and expeditious legislative consideration.

Eno urged the committee to work closely with the Ministries of Economic Development and Agriculture, as well as liaise with food producers, distributors and stakeholders to ensure that the food voucher programme is administered judiciously, adding that they should not hesitate to acquire buffer stock to ensure that government’s intentions for the programme are met.

“We have rolled out a blueprint for this programme to be launched and how it should be managed. We expect that you follow and remain very accountable. You should be ready to be audited at any time by any group of persons because we must ensure transparency.

“This Board is tasked with the onerous responsibility of administering our ARISE Food Security Programme scheduled to be launched next week Tuesday. This is our bold and compassionate intervention at this critical moment when the prices of our staple food items such as rice, beans and garri have soared beyond the immediate reach of the poor and most vulnerable,” the governor stated.

The governor reaffirmed his administration’s position that the food intervention programme be administered based on the updated social register to ensure accountability while directing the Ministry of Economic Development to reopen the social register in every village and ward in the State for continuous registration to accommodate more people.

APGA knocks Ganduje over comment on Anambra state

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APGA knocks Ganduje over comment on Anambra state

The All Progressives Grand Alliance has replied to the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, over his comments that Anambra State has remained politically dislocated from the centre by remaining in APGA.

The National Publicity Secretary of APGA, Ejimofor Opara, who reacted to the comment by Ganduje said Anambra, though a minority party, has remained better than most states which claim to have connected to the centre.

Ganduje, during the South-East APC colloquium held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Friday, said Anambra is not making the expected progress because it has remained in APGA and has also refused to connect to the centre.

The APC chairman also noted that former governors who ruled Anambra State under APGA ended up leaving the APGA after ruling the state, which, according to him, further demonstrated that the party had no bearing in national importance.

The colloquium was organised by the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.

But in a response on Saturday, Opara berated Ganduje, saying that his activities in Kano as governor were some of the reasons Kano chose a governor from the New Nigeria People’s Party.

Opara said, “First, I wonder the level of progress Kano State made under Ganduje’s APC that resulted in a revolutionary and historic rejection of the party by the people in 2023 as the people opted instead to vote for the NNPP and were ready to stake their lives to defend their votes.

“Ganduje should understand that the South-East and Ndi Anambra in particular are more interested in why Kano State, after him, decided en masse to disconnect from the APC-controlled centre.

“Well, the APC is non-existent in Anambra, I am sure Ganduje himself knows this for a fact. Again, the continued existence of APGA in Anambra is performance-based.

“Anambra, and indeed the South-East is APGA land. There is no doubt about this, and even where the region decides to negotiate a handshake with the Centre, the APC has proven not to be such a viable alternative. I sincerely hope that Ganduje will seek to see that which is not hidden than opting for deliberate ignorance.”

He added, “From Peter Obi to Willie Obiano and now Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra has remained on a trajectory of progressive growth, and it is for this reason even a political neophyte would state without double checking that Ganduje was either speaking to impress his host or he is sincerely ignorant of the facts.

“Anambra under APGA has remained a state of many firsts, and in recent times the state under the Soludo government has won many awards.

“Recall that Anambra has won the award as the state with best deployed ICT, and Anambra State ICT Agency under Mr Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata won that award. Anambra has also been named as the state with the least out-of-school children record.

“If all these awards are what it takes to be disconnected from the centre, then Anambra will gladly remain disconnected.”

Opara added that it is appalling that a political party that proposed a colloquium turned it into a political rally and ended up conducting a primary election, where the host senator, Ifeanyi Ubah was declared the candidate of the party in the next election.

Two dead, oil refinery on fire after drone attacks in Russia

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Two dead, oil refinery on fire after drone attacks in Russia

Multiple air attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod adjoining Ukraine on Saturday killed two people and injured at least seven, the governor said.

Further east, an overnight drone attack on the Samara region caused a fire at a major oil refinery, the latest in a series of strikes against Russia’s fuel industry.

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that two districts in his region as well as the regional capital, also called Belgorod, had been hit in drone and air attacks.

“It’s shaping up to be a difficult morning.

“As a result of an air attack by Ukrainian armed forces on Belgorod, three balconies collapsed in an apartment building. One of these apartments was occupied by a married couple. To much grief, the man died from his injuries on the spot,” Gladkov said.

He posted a photo of a residential building with the facade partially destroyed.

Another person was killed in a drone attack on districts outside the city, he said.

In the Samara region – 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away from the front lines in eastern — the local governor reported “several drone attacks” on local oil refineries.

One of them caused a fire at the Kuibyshev refinery, governor Dmitry Azarov said in a statement on Telegram, noting that there were no casualties.

The refinery, run by Russian oil giant Rosneft, is one of the largest in the region, with a production capacity of seven million tonnes per year, according to its official website.

A drone attack on another refinery in the region, Novokuibyshevsk, “was repelled without damaging the technological equipment”, Azarov said.

The attacks came 24 hours after Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial barrages of the two-year conflict, hitting dozens of Ukrainian energy sites and leaving more than a million temporarily without power.

Ukraine’s air force said it had downed 31 of 34 Russian drones fired at its territory overnight, while Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted 12 Ukrainian drones.

Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian offensive for over two years, has stepped up its attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting energy sites in particular.

Russia has also launched a barrage of what it calls “retaliatory” attacks, targeting Ukraine’s energy sector and the capital Kyiv in recent days.

AFP

Renewable energy key to tackling global water crisis -IEA

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Renewable energy key to tackling global water crisis -IEA

The International Energy Agency is seeking the reduction of the amount of water used in generating energy across the globe.

In place of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, the IEA said embracing renewable energies like wind and solar panels would reduce water use in the energy sector.

In a documentary to commemorate the 2024 World Water Day held on Friday, the agency noted that energy consumes a substantial amount of water, even as the world suffers a huge water problem.

“The world has a huge water problem. If you are one of the one-third of the world’s population that does not face water scarcity for at least one month a year, then you can consider yourself lucky, the IEA stated.

According to the organisation, it was estimated that the global energy system withdrew about 370 billion cubic metres of water in 2021.

“If you want to put it in terms of swimming pools, it will be about 150 million Olympic swimming pools. That’s perhaps more than there are swimming pools in the world,” it said.

It was explained that as energy demand goes up, it is likely that the demand for fresh water will also go up.

“We need water for cooling when we produce fossil fuels, we need water to refine critical minerals that go into some clean energy technologies like batteries, or wind generators. Some of these clean energy technologies that have low emissions like concentrated solar power carbon capture or storage or nuclear power plants, all have relatively high water footprints.

“If we transition to a system that relies more on wind and more on solar panels, then water use by the energy sector is going to decrease,” the agency noted.

It added that when there is competition for water, people will come first, stressing that if there is a water shortage, one of the first things that could be cut is water for energy for cooling.

“The energy sector needs to be prepared to use less energy so that it is not constrained in its capacity to deliver reliable energy,” IEA warned.

The According reports that the IEA had been calling for a transition from fossil fuels to alternative cleaner sources of energy.

However, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some African countries said the world would still depend on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs.

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