AfDB to support young 'agripreneurs'

Akinwunmi Adeshina

A former Minister of Agriculture in the previous Nigerian government and now the President, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Akinwumi Adeshina, has said the bank has earmarked $12.5billon for the training of the next generation of agriculture entrepreneurs (Agripreneurs), in Nigeria and 24 other African countries before 2025.

Nig/UK sign MoU on return of loots

Abubakar Malami,  Minister for Justice

The pursuit to have funds looted from the public coffers in Nigeria by public officers received a massive boost by an agreement between Nigeria and Britain to have such funds returned. Public officials who still look to Britain to hide their illicit wealth will need a rethink to examine if the irresponsible actions are worth any while.

According to the Nation, Britain will

Pencom to invest N2.3 trillion

Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, D-G, Nig. Pension Commission

Following worldwide practices on investing from the volume of pension funds, the National PensionCommission (PENCOM) said on Tuesday it planned to deploy at least 40 per cent of the total pension funds in the country (about N2.32 trillion) into investments in infrastructure development by 2019.

Total pension assets in Nigeria ​stood at N5.8 trillion as at July 2016, ​and accounted for about 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The Director General of PENCOM, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said in Abuja this was part of the Commission’s five ​-​ year strategy to enhance inclusive growth and generate better value for contributors.

Mrs. Anohu-Amazu was represented at the 2016 conference for finance correspondents by the Head, Investment Supervision department of the Commission, Ehimeme Onuorah.

The DG, who noted the current huge infrastructure gap in the country across critical areas of the economy, said there was high correlation between the level of infrastructure development and level of economic growth and performance.

She attributed the large infrastructure deficit in key sectors of the economy to population growth, demographic changes and urbanization, which have increased the demand for infrastructure in the country.

“Infrastructure is a potential avenue for pension funds to reap higher and consistent returns on investment,” she said. “If adequate policies, structures and regulations are instituted, pension fund investments in infrastructure and real estate development, provide veritable avenues for portfolio diversification as well as properly match pension assets with their future liabilities.”

Although the federal government’s allocation in the 2016 to capital expenditure increased to 26.2 per cent, or about N1.59 trillion, she said the Federal Ministry of Finance annual infrastructure needs estimate was about N7.3 trillion.

The only way to attempt to bridge the gap, she said, was through the use of part of the pension funds to execute projects to add value to the quality of life of the people.

The regulation on investment of Pension Fund Assets by PENCOM, she explained, allowed for investment in alternative asset classes, including Infrastructure “bonds” and “funds”, private equity funds, real estate/housing development.

“Alternative Assets are the only investment class with guaranteed returns, which are consistently above inflation rates,” she explained. .

As part of the strategy, the PENCOM boss said a monetary funds investment structure was currently before the President for approval.

Once the approval was given, she said the micro pension department created to coordinate the pensions funds for the informal and private sectors to commence the use of the funds for investment development.

The Commission said it would collaborate with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)/Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) towards the implementation and execution of model projects in the country.

Under the arrangement, it said a financing structure and credit enhancements/guarantees (for Bonds) would be developed with the CBN, SWF and the Debt Management Office (DMO) for the execution of the projects.

Okorocha grants workers 2-work free paid days

His Excellency Gov. Okorocha of Imo state

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has insisted that the three-day working policy crafted by the state government for civil servants in the state stands.

The confirmation came barely few days after the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state protested against the policy and other ills by the state government.

He also said that the cutting of the working days to three from five would have no interference with the workers’ salaries and allowances.

“I will not cut workers’ salaries because of the two days,“ he said.

Okorocha, while briefing journalists on Monday in Owerri after his overseas trip, stated that workers would go to work between Mondays and Wednesdays, leaving Thursdays and Fridays for agricultural activities.

He, however, noted that any worker that would not come to his or her duty post for any reason must get a written document (permission) from either the Head of Service or Chief of Staff (in the Government House) of the state.

Okorocha said, “Any worker, who is not found in his/her duty post without permission or exemption letter from the Head of Service or his counterpart will immediately lose his/her position to another  person from his or her community.”

The governor added that the civil servants working days were cut because they (workers) did not make judicious use of their official hours.

“Instead of being devoted to the work they are paid for, they use their official hours to loiter about; they sell groundnut, gala, chin-chin and sieve egusi, among others, in the office. I decided to reduce the working days because I want to enhance agriculture in the state.”

 There is nothing that is cultivated or produced in the state. All the things we eat like tomato, pepper, cucumber, groundnut and others things are produced in the North. Think of a situation where the northerners decide to stop supplying us with these edibles, what happens?”

In strong terms, he maintained that the state government had paid all salaries of workers in the state, up to August, 2016. On the part of pensioners, he promised that they would soon receive all arrears of their pension.

Okorocha said that over 3000 fresh computer literate graduates would soon be employed  in the civil  service to develop the economy.

He regretted that over 95 per cent of Imo State workers were not computer literate and attributed their low productivity to it.

FG to negotiate kidnapped School girls release

Martha Mark, mother of kidnapped school Monica Mark with daughter's picture

The Federal Government yesterday has stated its consideration willingness to negotiate with the genuine leadership of the Boko Haram sect for the release of the school girls who were abducted from Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014.

The government, however, said for the negotiation to take place, the insurgents, in the event that they do not feel comfortable to engage the government directly, can choose an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation (NGO) to discuss on its behalf, show proof that they are holding the girls and identify the prisoners in detention, which they want the government to release in exchange for the girls.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in an interview with journalists in Nairobi, Kenya, yesterday, said the Nigerian government was ready to dialogue with the genuine leaders of the terror group who can prove they have knowledge about the whereabouts of the girls.

‘‘What we said is that the government, which I preside over, is prepared to talk to bonafide leaders of Boko Haram. If they do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation (NGO), convince them that they are holding the girls and that they want Nigeria to release a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention, which they are supposed to know.

‘‘If they do it through the ‘modified leadership’ of Boko Haram and they talk with an internationally recognised NGO, then Nigeria will be prepared to discuss their release,” the president said.

President Buhari, who spoke to the media on the side-lines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), warned that the federal government will not waste time and resources with “doubtful sources’’ who claim to know the whereabouts of the girls.

‘‘I have made a couple of comments on the Chibok girls and it seems to me that much of it has been politicised.

‘‘We want those girls out and safe. The faster we can recover them and hand them over to their parents, the better for us,’’ a statement by his senior special assistant, media, Garba Shehu, quoted the president to have said.

The president further maintained that the terror group, which pledged allegiance to ISIS, had been largely decimated by the Nigerian military with the support of immediate neighbours – Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, even as he noted the split in the ranks of the terror group.

‘‘Some of the information about the division in Boko Haram is already in the press and I have read in the papers about the conflict in their leadership.

‘‘The person known in Nigeria as their leader, we understand, was edged out and the Nigerian members of Boko Haram started turning themselves to the Nigerian military.

‘‘We learnt that in an air strike by the Nigeria Air Force, he was wounded. Indeed their top hierarchy and lower cadre have a problem and we know this because when we came into power, they were holding 14 out of the 774 local governments in Nigeria. But now, they are not holding any territory and they have split to small groups attacking soft targets,” the president said.

On the militancy in the Niger Delta region, Buhari declared that while the federal government was also open to dialogue to resolve all contending issues in the area, it was at the moment, doubtful of the ceasefire declared by the militants.

‘‘We do not believe that they (the militants) have announced ceasefire. We are trying to understand them more. Who are their leaders and which areas do they operate and other relevant issues,’’ he said.

The president, however, warned that the Niger Delta militants must dialogue with the federal government or be dealt with in the same way as Boko Haram.

He also gave assurance to existing and prospective foreign investors that their investments in Nigeria would be fully secure and protected.

Speaking at a bilateral meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, President Buhari outlined several steps taken by his administration to secure the country and make doing business easy in Nigeria.

According to the statement by Shehu, Buhari told the Japanese leader that with the defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists by the military, the attention of the administration was now focused on stopping the destruction of the country’s economic assets by militants in the Niger Delta region.

“We are talking to some of their leaders. We will deal with them as we dealt with Boko Haram if they refuse to talk to us.

“As a government, we know our responsibility, which is to secure the environment. It is clear to us that lenders won’t fund projects in insecure environments. We realise that we have to secure the country before we can efficiently manage it,” the president said.

President Buhari told the Japanese prime minister that security in the Gulf of Guinea, which is greatly affected by piracy and armed robbery at sea, was a priority for the Nigerian government.

‘‘We have provided funds to our Navy to buy new platforms, train and effectively organise the personnel to protect the area. We are looking forward to support from developed nations for satellite surveillance covering the Gulf,’’ he added.

Recalling his audience with G7 leaders in Germany, which was attended by the prime minister, Buhari thanked Japan for responding positively to the request by Nigeria for support in the rehabilitation of victims of the Boko Haram insurgency and the rebuilding of infrastructure in the North Eastern part of the country.

He, however, noted that there was still more to do on education, health and other infrastructure to ensure quick and voluntary return of displaced persons to their native communities.

On the United Nations Security Council reform, President Buhari agreed to work with Japan on the matter, stressing that the case for a permanent seat for Africa on the Council was a moral one.

He equally expressed Nigeria’s support for Japan in its bid for a UN resolution on the problems in East China and South China as well as the nuclear tests by North Korea.

‘‘The UN system is sufficient for the resolution of all disputes and no nation should be above the United Nations. This has to be made absolutely clear and I assure the prime minister that I will meet as many leaders as possible at the forthcoming UN General Assembly concerning the issues,” the president said.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Abe congratulated President Buhari for courageously tackling the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said Nigeria and Japan must work together to improve the investment climate in view of the many Japanese companies wishing to invest in Nigeria.

Abe reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to the rapid development of Nigeria through qualitative delivery of ongoing projects in the country, including Jebba hydro power scheme and the Lagos railway project.

culled from Leadership Newspapers

Kerry visits Buhari

US Secretary of State, John Kerry & President M. Buhari

The much awaited arrival of the US Secretary of State, John Kerry has come. The level of security apparatus put in place on his visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja last Tuesday appeared to be more impressive  than those for visiting presidents from other countries.

Most times, security appeared to be relaxed and nothing extraordinary during visits by other countries’ Presidents to the Presidential Villa, Abuja as the place is perceived to be the most secured place in Nigeria.

Visiting security men, who accompany such visiting Presidents hardly have any business to do at the Aso Rock Villa prior to their principals’ visit.

Their first contact with the Villa on a particular visit is when they accompany their Presidents to the Villa for the visit proper.

Even though President Muhammadu Buhari did not come to the forecourt  to receive Kerry like he does with visiting Presidents, nothing was left to chance as far as security arrangement was concerned for Kerry, whose official functions in the US government are similar to those of a Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria.

Security ground works for Kerry, who was a five time senator in the US before his current position, started in the State House Abuja about twenty four hours to his scheduled visit.

Some US plain clothed security personnel were spotted last week Monday carrying out their assignments at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

More security and US Embassy staff were also deployed to the State House Abuja before Kerry’s arrival on Tuesday.

While one US security personnel in mufti was seen standing at the middle of the forecourt communicating intermittently on his wireless gadget as the 2.55 p.m scheduled arrival time for Kerry approached, one of the US Embassy media man assisted in positioning the State House photographers and videographers by showing them where to stay to do their job as they awaited Kerry’s arrival.

At about 3.06 p.m., four black-coloured American specs, including Chevrolet and Ford made their way through the Service Chiefs Gate to the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Kerry did not alight from his vehicle for about two minutes when his car stopped, probably to allow his security men from other cars position themselves.

Kerry also appeared to be waiting in the vehicle for Villa’s State Chief of Protocol (SCOP), Kazaure Lawal, who received him on behalf of the President, to take position by his vehicle.

He had to bend his 1.93 meter body height in order not to hit his head against the car as he alighted.

Photographers and videographers, who had gathered at the forecourt immediately went to work as their cameras clicked away while Kerry was ushered to the main entrance of President Buhari’s office.

Apart from visiting journalists, only two television stations’ cameramen accredited to the State House and two State House official photographers were allowed to establish the bilateral meeting at the President’s office.

Kerry emerged from the main entrance to the President’s office after about two hours that he entered for the closed door meeting.

Security men at the Villa including the visiting ones immediately went into action by clearing the about 200 meters passage from the President’s office to the State House Press Waiting Room, where Kerry was planned to meet with some selected state governors from the Northern part of Nigeria.

To access the venue of the meeting with the governors, Kerry had to pass in front of the Council Chamber Press Gallery, where journalists covering the State House stay to do their jobs.

The journalists sometimes stand on the corridor in front of the Council Chamber Press Gallery to ambush and interview some high profile visitors coming out from the President’s office.

But last Tuesday was a different ball game as they were not allowed near the corridor when Kerry made his way from the President’s office to the venue of the meeting.

Some security men had to stand in front of the Council Chamber Press Gallery door to ensure no journalist disobey the instruction and venture to the corridor while Kerry moved to the venue of his second meeting in the Villa.

Again just like the first meeting, establishment of the meeting with the state governors was limited. Only seven State House cameramen and photographers were allowed to establish the meet.

While many visiting Presidents and other leaders hold joint press conferences with the Nigerian President at the end of such bilateral meetings at the Villa, there was no press conference with Kerry throughout his stay at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The visit, no doubt, showed that the Aso Rock actually received a special visitor from God’s own country.

It may also be very difficult to fault the security arrangement put in place for Kerry knowing the situation of the insurgency and militancy in some parts of Nigeria.

The US Embassy in Nigeria that has severally warned its citizens on movements to certain states in Nigeria won’t want to take any chances with Kerry’s life in any part of the country.

One of the news items that emerged from the closed door meeting between Buhari and Kerry last Tuesday was move to make the present anti-corruption war in Nigeria live beyond the current dispensation.

Buhari promised that the anti-corruption crusade will not only be deepened but institutionalized.

This is definitely a warning to all those secretly taking what do not belong to them to be ready for probe when his administration exits power.

All well-meaning Nigerians, no doubt, will be praying for the anti-corruption war to live beyond this government in order to ensure that the commonwealth of Nigeria continues to be utilized for the generality of Nigerians and not siphoned to private pockets of few individuals.

But to achieve this, there must be a real change in the behaviour of Nigerians at all levels.

Culled The Nation

Nickel Discovered in Kaduna

Kayode Fayemi (Minister, Solid Minerals)

The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development on yesterday confirmed the discovery of Nickel in parts of Kaduna State in North-West Nigeria.

Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Abbas, said the ministry had been following up on the report by its technical experts since the first discovery was made several months ago.

“The Ministry is aware of the occurrence of the mineral in parts of Kaduna State,” the statement said. “Since the first discovery many months ago, technical experts from the ministry have been following up on this development as provided by law.

The ministry urged Nigerians to allow government come up with detailed reports on the new find towards its development.

According to a report by PREMIUM TIMES which stated that a private mining syndicate had discovered nickel in Nigeria.

The private mining syndicate headed by Hugh Morgan, a mining industry veteran, described the discovery as unusual since it was found in small balls of about three millimeters in diameter and of a high purity in shallow soils, indicative of the existence of a larger hard-rock Nickel field in the area.

The discovery was said to be around Dangoma, a small farming town about 160 kilometres northeast of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The community also borders Kaduna state to the west.

Nickel could potentially be a high foreign exchange earner for Nigeria, particularly at a time the country’s economy was facing the blight of declining global crude oil prices.

Nickel is sold primarily for first use as refined metal in manufacturing of many other alloys, while about 65 per cent of it is consumed in the West, used for the production of stainless steel products.

Nigeria could join some of the world’s largest producers of Nickel, which include Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, Canada, and Australia, according to the US Geological Survey.

At the moment, Nigeria’s current output of Nickel is below 2.5 metric tons per annum, produced mainly from scrap irons.

The discovery of the mineral in large volume could see the country’s production capacity increased significantly, as government has already shown commitment to raise its capacity to meet the country’s annual steel demand of 6.8 metric tons, Mr. Fayemi told Bloomberg recently.

Culled Premium Times/

Scotland, Canada add hijab to Police uniform

Police women in Edmonton, Canada

As France obsesses over what women ought to be wearing — or not wearing — on its beaches, Canada and Scotland have adopted new rules allowing female police officers to sport the hijab in an attempt to attract more Muslim women to their respective forces.

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently unveiled the new internal policies, which would add the traditional head-covering to the iconic red Mountie uniform.

"This is intended to better reflect the diversity in our communities and encourage more Muslim women to consider the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a career option," a spokesperson for Canada's minister of public safety said in a statement.

The move makes the RCMP the third police force in Canada to make the change.

Phil Gormley, Chief Constable of Police Scotland, heralded his force's change as an ideal way to show that Muslim women are welcome on the force.

"I am delighted to make this announcement and welcome the support from both the Muslim community, and the wider community, as well as police officers and staff," Gormley said in a statement.

"I hope that this addition to our uniform options will contribute to making our staff mix more diverse and adds to the life skills, experiences and personal qualities that our officers and staff bring to policing the communities of Scotland," Gormley went on.

Police Scotland could use the help. According to a report published in June by the police agency, less than three percent of their applicants came from non-white individuals.

"Based on these figures, it is clear to see that challenge Police Scotland faces," the report concluded, noting that they would need some 650 more non-white applicants to meet their target. "Considering current application trends this would appear to be unachievable."

Related: Burkini wearers are being forced to disrobe on French beaches

The policies make the two countries amongst the first to make broad exceptions for the hijab, alongside Sweden and Norway. In the United States, there are no broad rules regarding the headscarf. The St. Paul Police Department, in Minnesota, is one of the few that permits the hijab, and recently swore in its first hijab-wearing officer.

Western police forces have recently been forced to confront a lack of diversity in their ranks, faced with a litany of police shootings in minority neighbourhoods and with the rising problem of homegrown radicalization.

The changes also come at a time when hate crimes against Muslims, especially Muslim women, are on the rise throughout North America and Europe.

The moves have been celebrated from a litany of groups, but have also attracted opposition from the expected anti-Muslim channels, who blasted the move as Islam infiltrating secular life.

Of course, Canada has some experience in allowing religious headwear in their police forces. Sikh police officers won the right to wear the turban while on duty over 20 years ago. One of the beneficiaries of that policy, Harjit Singh Sajjan — who served both in Afghanistan with the Canadian Armed Forces, earning the Order of Military Merit, one of the country's highest honours; and with the Vancouver Police Department — is now Canada's minister of national defense.

In the United Kingdom, Sikh men recently won the right to wear the turban in most workplaces. Police officers, however, cannot carry a firearm if they do so, unless a helmet can fit over their head-dress.

159 die in Italian quake

Matteo Renzi (Prime Minister, Italy)

Rescue crews using bulldozers and their bare hands raced to dig out survivors from a strong earthquake that reduced three central Italian towns to rubble Wednesday, killing 159 people but the number of dead and missing was uncertain given the thousands of vacationers in the area for summer’s final days.

Residents wakened before dawn by the temblor emerged from their crumbled homes to find what they described as apocalyptic scenes “like Dante’s Inferno,” with entire blocks of buildings turned into piles of sand and rock, thick dust choking the air and a putrid smell of gas.

“The town isn’t here anymore,” said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of the hardest-hit town, Amatrice. “I believe the toll will rise.”

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 3:36 am on Thursday and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, where residents woke to a long swaying followed by aftershocks. The temblor shook the Lazio region and Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast, a highly seismic area that has witnessed major quakes in the past.

Buhari wants emergency powers

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari will be seeking emergency powers from the National Assembly to push his planned stimulus for the economy.

The objectives of the action-plan on the economy, which is in recession, include shoring up the value of the naira, creation of more jobs, boosting of foreign reserves, reviving the manufacturing sector and improving power.

Government sources said the decision to seek emergency powers for the President was based on a proposal from the economic team headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The team reviewed the various policies so far introduced and how they have affected the economy.

The economic team, it was learnt, gauged the mood of the polity and decided that unless there is an urgency which some of the extant laws will not permit, “the recession may be longer than expected and Nigerians will not get the desired respite, which is the goal of this government”.

An executive bill titled: “Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill 2016” is to be presented to the National Assembly when the Senate and the House of Representatives resume from vacation on September 12.

In the bill, the executive will be asking for the President to be given sweeping powers to set aside some extant laws and use executive orders to roll out an economic recovery package within the next one year.

Buhari will be seeking powers to:

abridge the procurement process to support stimulus spending on critical sectors of the economy;

make orders to favour local contractors/suppliers in contract awards;

abridge the process of sale or lease of government assets to generate revenue;

allow virement of budgetary allocation to projects that are urgent, without going back to the National Assembly;

amend certain laws, such as the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act, so that states that cannot access their cash trapped in the accounts of the commission because they cannot meet the counterpart funding, can do so; and

to embark on radical reforms in visa issuance at Nigeria’s consular offices and on arrival in the country and to compel some agencies of government like the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the National Agency for Foods Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and others to improve on their turn around operation time for the benefit of business.

The extant law on procurement does not allow contract award earlier than six months after decision. Part of this is a mandatory advertisement of the contract for six weeks. The economic team has found this to be unacceptable, given our present circumstance.

Although the president has the power to order the sale or lease of any government asset to raise cash, “the procedure is cumbersome and long”. The draft bill is meant to ease the process.

The government source said about nine government assets may be leased or sold to generate around $50billion to shore up the nation’s foreign reserves and the value of the naira against the United States dollar.

The source said: “Nigeria may be broke at the moment but we are not a poor country, given our assets and capability.”

About N58 billion is trapped in UBEC’s coffers because the states cannot access it as a result of the key condition, which is the payment of 50 per cent counterpart funding. The government is seeking an amendment to the law so that states will pay only 10 per cent as counterpart funding.

The objective is that state governments will have access to cash to develop education. This will facilitate creation of jobs since contracts will be awarded for the projects.

As for contract awards, the government, by the provisions of the law, cannot mobilise contractors with more than 15 per cent of contract sum. This is considered to be undesirable by the economic team given the pace the government wants to move in turning the economy around and in the provision of critical infrastructure. The bill will seek to allow the government to mobilise contractors with 50 per cent of contract sum.

The move to get government agencies to fast tract their operations is to enable foreign investors to come into the country without the current bottlenecks.

Consular offices will now be expected to make visas available within 48 hours and visitors, especially tourists who intend to pick up visas at the entry point, will be able to do so.

Time wasting at the airport with duplication of agencies screening incoming passengers is to be eliminated. Those leaving the country should go without hassle.

For the power sector, the government plans to truck gas from source to the power plants to enable them get what they need for generation.

A government source said: “This may be more expensive but it is a price to be paid for Nigerians’ comfort”.

It was learnt that President Buhari will engage the leadership of the National Assembly before their resumption to solicit support for the bill’s quick passage.

Culled: The Nation

Banks pinch on funding power sector

Minister for Power, Babatunde Fashola touring a site in Benue state

The inefficiencies in the privatised power sector have made the deposit money banks  (DMBs) unwilling to provide loans to electricity generation and distribution firms as they are no longer convinced about the viability of investing in the power sector, judging by the happenings in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, as The Punch reports.

Officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc, as well as those from the financial sector said the lenders were becoming very cautious about lending to investors in the power business. The inability of the power firms to meet their various contractual obligations to the NBET, gas suppliers, the DMBs and other service providers, had made some banks to shut their doors on loans to the electricity companies.

Also, it was learnt that the banks were not comfortable with the happenings around the tariff, as they argued that aside from the fact that the tariff was low, there was no sign that the Federal Government would raise it any time soon in order to adequately meet the revenue requirements of the power sector.

In a related development, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has said its on-going five year expansion programme, designed at expanding electricity transmission capacity to 11,500 Megawatts by 2019 will require $7.5 billion.

The Managing Director of TCN, Mr Abubakar Atiku, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday. He said part of the strategic plan, aimed at ensuring steady power supply, was to boost its transmission capability to 8,200MW by the end of 2018. He added that it would be realised by completing eight of its new projects in 2018.

Atiku said that the completion of the projects would eventually lead to a total transmission capacity of 11,500MW.He said that the ultimate expansion programme was designed to ensure the completion of 59 projects by 2019 in line with the envisaged Federal Government’s realisation of 10,000MW.

He explained that the five-year plan had also been carefully developed with the overall aim of realising an uninterrupted power supply with the realisation of 20,000MW by 2022.

Giving the breakdown of the measures envisaged to source the fund, Atiku said the project was expected to receive concessionary loans and grant of $3.4 billion from TCN’s support international finance agencies.

Furthermore, the Federal Government was expected to contribute $1.5 billion while the financing initiatives of TCN were expected to contribute $2.6 billion in realisation of the project.

Atiku said that to key into the incremental power plan of FG, TCN planned to realise the completion of 22 critical projects captured in the 2016 Budget.

He said that TCN increased its present transmission capacity from 5,500MW to 6,00MW, adding that efforts were on to increase the wheeling capacity to 7,500MW with the completion of 31 projects by 2017. He pointed out that TCN restored unavailable service equipment to boost and strengthen the national grid.

According to him, with the restoration of critical equipment hitherto neglected by the previous management, the transmission system has been relatively stable with zero system collapse.

The MD said that TCN was focused at ensuring that no power was left stranded in the generating stations, adding that efforts were being intensified to ensure stability of the national grid.

He said this was being archived through the introduction of changes in TCN’s operational ways of conducting business.

NAN

State Legislators refund car loans to EFCC

Gov. Sam Ortom of Benue State

Gov. Samuel Ortom has said that 22 state legislators have started refunding car loans they collected for personal vehicles to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ortom, who said this when he received youths of Turan in Kwande Local Government, said they were expected to refund N317million to the anti-graft agency in Abuja.

He said the refund was necessitated by the shoddy manner in which the loans were disbursed to the lawmakers.

The governor said that the process fell short of best practices required in such financial transactions.

Ortom explained that out of the number, 12 legislators were from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while 10 were from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He expressed regrets that due process was jettisoned, which led to the lodgments of cash into the accounts of the legislators for the purchase of the cars.

“After the Executive Council approved the contract for the procurement of Prado Jeeps for the assembly members, only eight were procured”, he stated.

He said the contractor blamed his inability to purchase the remaining 22 vehicles on the high cost of the dollar.

“Instead of the contractor to get back to the government, he decided to meet the members directly, who opted for cash.

“The EFCC after studying the contract document ordered the 22 members, who collected cash to refund the money to the commission as due process was not followed”, he added.

The EFCC had over the past one month, played host to Benue legislators, including its leadership, in their role in the loan disbursement saga.

Ortom also assured that his former amnesty boss, Terwase Akwaza, who was fleeing from arrest over his alleged role in the killing of his security aide would be arrested and brought to book.

He said more than 60 of his gang members had been arrested for various crimes in the state. (NAN)

Buhari strenghtens Islamic Bank ties

IDB President, Dr. Madani and President Buhari

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, according to reports, in Abuja today said the Federal Government will deepen its partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to fund critical projects in health, water and the infrastructure sector.

This was occasioned whilst receiving Dr. Ali Madani, President of the IDB Group at the State House, Abuja. The President commended the bank for supporting several developmental projects across the country.

He further acknowledged that the bank has funded several people-oriented projects in Osun, Kaduna, Jigawa, Niger, Katsina, Kano and Ebonyi states, demonstrating its “soft spot and robust support’’ for Nigeria.

‘‘We can’t thank you enough for the height you have achieved for the bank in 41 years. Now that you are about to retire, we thank you for the quality leadership which the world has recognized,’’ the President said.

The Presdent also expressed appreciation to the IDB Group and other countries for extending their assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the North-East.

The President assured the visiting IDB chief that Nigeria, a major financier of the bank, will meet all its obligations to the development institution within the shortest time possible.

The President highlighted efforts of the current administration at diversifying the economy with emphasis on agriculture and expressed strong optimism that Nigeria will achieve self-sufficiency in rice and sugar; and export both commodities in the next three years.

In his remarks, Dr Madani congratulated President Buhari on the positive outcomes of the war against corruption and terrorism.

He said the bank was ready to mobilize resources from Arab fund for developmental initiatives of the Nigerian government and the private sector, particularly on agriculture.