Senate begins oversight of Kaduna power plant

The Senate Joint Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, and Gas, has began an on-the-spot assessment of Kaduna Power Plant.
Kaduna Power Plant has an installed capacity of 215 megawatts (MW).
According to the Co-Chairman, joint committee and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Sen. Bassey Akpan, said the Kaduna plant oversight was part of the committee’s investigation into alleged inconsistencies in contract implementation of the facility and its failure to generate electricity.
He said, “We are doing on-the-spot assessment of the plant and we will also be visiting every other gas-producing facility across the country, next week. The revelations we have are quite disheartening. By the time we are done and we do our final report, it will be an eye-opener on the rot in the power sector.
“The minister will definitely appear before us because he is not bigger than the Senate. We will give another date by the time we are done with the site visits.”
Akpan said the committee would see to the end of the investigation, adding that, “if we must move forward as a country we must do the right thing.”
The joint committee had at its investigative hearing on November 27, ordered suspension of the planned commissioning of the 215Mw Kaduna Power Plant over inconsistencies in contract implementation pending conclusion of its investigation.
The committee had expressed dissatisfaction with reasons given by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mr. Louis Edozie, who defended change of parameters of the plant from gas-powered to diesel-powered plant.
It expressed reservation with the rationale behind converting the plant from gas-powered to diesel, which was more expensive. The committee also expressed displeasure with the discrepancies in contract figures presented by the Ministry of Power and the consultant handling the project.
The Senate had on June 15, 2017, mandated the joint committee to investigate the Kaduna 215-Megawatt Power Plant’s failure to generate electricity.
The project was approved in 2009 with an expected completion date of 2012
Electricity workers’ union laments FG’s inability to pay disengaged workers
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has lamented the government’s inability to settle the entitlement of over 1,000 electricity workers disengaged from service four years ago.
The unions’ President, Mr Martin Uzoegwu, who described the development as sad, said the situation was worrisome.
“This is corruption and an unfair labour practice. We advise the government to put necessary machinery in place to ensure that these ex-workers receive their severance benefits.’’
The NUEE president said the objective of the meeting with the union officials was to brainstorm on issues arising from privatisation and post-privatisation of the power sector.
Speaking also, General Secretary of the United Labour Congress, Mr. Didi Adodo, said it was regrettable that even workers, who were still in service were not being paid their salaries.
Adodo advised workers in states not getting salaries to review their duty schedule and ensure that if after the 30th or 31st of each month their salaries were not paid, they should stop going to work.
He advised workers to vote for genuine leaders in the 2019 election and ensure that those who had refused to pay workers were voted out. Other unionists and representatives from electricity distribution companies said that the meeting would boost partnership between workers and employers in the sector.
They agreed that the power sector was vital to development of Nigeria and that there was need to work together to develop the sector.
Senate begins oversight of Kaduna power plant
The Senate Joint Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, and Gas, has began an on-the-spot assessment of Kaduna Power Plant.
Kaduna Power Plant has an installed capacity of 215 megawatts (MW).
According to the Co-Chairman, joint committee and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Sen. Bassey Akpan, said the Kaduna plant oversight was part of the committee’s investigation into alleged inconsistencies in contract implementation of the facility and its failure to generate electricity.
He said, “We are doing on-the-spot assessment of the plant and we will also be visiting every other gas-producing facility across the country, next week. The revelations we have are quite disheartening. By the time we are done and we do our final report, it will be an eye-opener on the rot in the power sector.
“The minister will definitely appear before us because he is not bigger than the Senate. We will give another date by the time we are done with the site visits.”
Akpan said the committee would see to the end of the investigation, adding that, “if we must move forward as a country we must do the right thing.”
The joint committee had at its investigative hearing on November 27, ordered suspension of the planned commissioning of the 215Mw Kaduna Power Plant over inconsistencies in contract implementation pending conclusion of its investigation.
The committee had expressed dissatisfaction with reasons given by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mr. Louis Edozie, who defended change of parameters of the plant from gas-powered to diesel-powered plant.
It expressed reservation with the rationale behind converting the plant from gas-powered to diesel, which was more expensive. The committee also expressed displeasure with the discrepancies in contract figures presented by the Ministry of Power and the consultant handling the project.
The Senate had on June 15, 2017, mandated the joint committee to investigate the Kaduna 215-Megawatt Power Plant’s failure to generate electricity.
The project was approved in 2009 with an expected completion date of 2012
ECA to promote digital entrepreneurship
Stories by Ayoni M. Agbabiaka with agencies

The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms. Vera Songwe has called on countries to give female creativity and innovation “all the opportunities required in order to bear fruits and achieve sustainable and inclusive development.”
She said this at the launch of the Women and Girls Startup Challenge, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, which took place at a meeting themed: Attempting innovative and inclusive female transformation.
The initiative is aimed at promoting female digital entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and business projects. It will also help to marshal funds for young female digital entrepreneurs.
Ms. Songwe, who serves as sponsor of the initiative, stressed that through collective commitment, girls and women should be supported to become what she termed as, “key, dynamic and strategic digital stakeholders” through boosting their creativity. She promised the young entrepreneurs that she would “leave no stone unturned” in bringing together the private sector, policy-makers and associations to support the initiative.
“Your success could trigger the launch of a larger continent-wide movement.
The Women and Girls Startup Challenge aims to give aspiring female entrepreneurs the opportunity to submit their projects online and to make a ten-minute presentation before a jury composed of seasoned professionals. Follow-up through mentorship or access to funding is also included.
In addition to the launch of the initiative, the Executive Secretary delivered remarks at the meeting, speaking on the sub-theme: “Contributing more efficiently to the sustainable development Agenda for girls and women through digitalization”.
“While digital evolution is not a panacea, its opportunities for an effective participation of women in sustainable development and the benefits that they can derive from this process are immeasurable,” she stated.
She noted that access and control of information on products, as well as the composition and other types of variables that are essential for the processing of these products, play a role in determining women’s participation in value chains – from production to market sales. “This is essential, not only for the structural transformation of the African economy, but also for return on investment,” she said.
NCS set to train 1m Nigerians on ICT
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body of all Information Technology (IT) professionals and Internet Groups in the country, has unveiled fresh plans to train one million Nigerian youths in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills in one year, beginning from next year.
This is just as NCS also plans to confer Professional Fellowship awards, Honorary Fellowship awards, IT Personality award on distinguished organizations and members of the society who have contributed towards the growth of ICT in the country.
Announcing the plans at a press conference in Lagos, the NCS President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, said the essence of the skills development programme and awards initiative, was to further accelerate IT growth in the country, in line with the advocacy efforts of NCS to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria through Information Technology. He said NCS would continue to promote excellence and significant impact in the IT industry, through its various initiatives.
“Our focus as a society is progress for the sector in particular and for the nation as a whole. As the acknowledged professional authority facilitating the development of an inclusive, globally competitive, prosperous and knowledge-based Nigeria, NCS is committed to recognizing and rewarding outstanding hard work and excellence in accelerating IT development,” Aderounmu said.
He also announced the readiness of NCS to advertise for the 2017/2018 academic year scholarship award, that is sponsored by one of its members, who is the Chairman of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia. According to him, Ovia has again funded scholarship awards for the next academic year, just like he did this academic year. The sponsorship, which gulps N15.75 million yearly, covers 35 students studying Computer and IT related courses across Nigerian Universities at the Ph.D, M.Sc and B.Sc levels.
A breakdown of the scholarship award shows that five Ph. D students will be given N750,000 each, 10 Masters students will be given N500,000 each and 20 undergraduate students studying computer and computer-related courses in various Nigerian universities, will get N300, 000 each.
Aderounmu said Ovia has been consistent in the scholarship wards since 2015 and has promised automatic employment at Zenith Bank, to all undergraduate students under the scholarship scheme, that graduate with second class upper.
Speaking on the initiatives, the Publicity Secretary of NCS, Mr. Femi Williams, said: “We must encourage those in our environment who are using their knowledge, creativity and resourcefulness to develop local tech solutions that are so essential to the drive for socio economic, growth, recovery and development.”
Ntel, 9mobile commence national roaming test
Ntel, Nigeria’s most advanced 4G/LTE broadband operator has announced a national roaming field trial with 9mobile.
The operators have received regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to commence a national roaming trial over a two-month period.
According to ntel, the agreement will enable ntel’s customers to make calls on 9mobile’s network using any 2G or 3G handset within the specified trial zone.
Commenting on the commencement of the national roaming trial, Ernest Akinlola, ntel’s CEO said “This agreement is a significant step in the right direction for us as a company and the telecommunications eco system as a whole.” A full national roaming agreement with 9Mobile would provide our growing customer base with a seamless service over 4G/LTE superfast data and voice clarity as well as ubiquitous 3G and 2G coverage nationwide. Both operators are pioneers in innovation and we are pleased to be charting a new path for the industry.”
The national roaming test is expected to commence on both networks from December 1, 2017.
ntel is Nigeria’s most advanced mobile 4G/LTE network providing superfast Internet Access that enables high-definition voice, data and video services. ntel’s network is built on the 900/1800 Mhz frequency bands which are the best propagation frequencies for the deployment of 4G/LTE technology.
ntel’s range of services include: National Bandwidth; International Voice Termination, International Bandwidth; Mobile and Fixed Communications services.
The company made its first on-net test data call in Lagos on January 18, 2016, and followed this up with the first on-net Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) call in Lagos on February 25, 2016, while full commercial operations commenced on April 8, 2016.
Maritime essay competition: Medical student emerges winner
Stories by Bode Olagoke

A second-year medical student of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Miss Elizabeth Ezekiel, has emerged the winner of the Essay Competition organised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to commemorate the 2017 World Maritime Day celebration.
Miss Ezekiel’s essay was adjudged the best out of 180 entries by an independent panel of judges on the topic “Connecting Ships, Ports and People” which is the theme for the 2017 WMD celebration.
She was presented with a N500,000.00 Education Grant, a laptop computer and a plaque by the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi in Lagos during the celebration of the World Maritime Day recently.
She was followed by David Adetula, a 200 level student of Dentistry and Dental Surgery of the University of Ibadan who came second and was presented with an Education Grant of N350,000.00, a laptop computer and a plaque by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani.
The second runner up was Habeebullah Asudemade, a first year law student of the University of Ibadan who went home with an Education Grant of N250,000.00, a laptop computer and a plaque presented to him by Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration.
Seven other students were also presented with consolation prizes of N100,000.00 Education Grant each by the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
They are Ogochukwu Jesse, a student of Combined Arts University of Nigeria Nsukka, Angela Eze of Agricultural Extension, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Sarah Iortsor studying Chemistry in Benue State University Makurdi and Michael Adekanbi who of the Insurance department, University of Lagos.
Others are Laurene Ekwugha studying Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Rukaiya Labaran of Physics Education department, University of Jos and Adekolajo Fasiku of the History Department, University of Ibadan.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the DG of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside called on the winners to remain dedicated to their studies adding that “this reward is just one of NIMASA’s contributions to the development of human capital in Nigeria”.
He expressed the hope that the Education Grant given to the winners will contribute in supporting their scholarly activities and challenged them to be prepared to contribute their quota to the development of the country upon graduation.
The essay competition which was open to only first and second year students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria drew entries from all over the country.
The exercise is part of the agency’s commitment to get youths involved in the Nigerian project in general and the intellectual discourse on harnessing the potentials of the maritime industry in particular.

Leave a Reply