Nigeria: Press zooms in on US pledge of $45m security fund for Nigeria, other W/African nations

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the US would provide an additional $45m to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old programme to nearly $300m is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the US would provide an additional $45m to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old programme to nearly $300m, according to reports by AFP and Reuters.
In a four-nation tour of African democracies, Blinken met separately Tuesday with President Bola Tinubu and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
The trip was to discuss US-African partnerships over trade, climate, infrastructure, health, security and other issues. It follows a summit in Washington with African leaders in December 2022.
Blinken sought progress combatting coups and extremism in West Africa in talks with two key leaders, as he pointed to Ivory Coast as a model.
AFP reports that while in Abidjan, Blinken hailed Ivory Coast’s stand against last year’s coup in Niger and its approach of “building security together” by investing economically to combat extremism in northern areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso.
“I have to applaud the approach that’s been taken by Cote d’Ivoire – working with communities, listening to communities, making sure that their security forces understand the needs, the concerns of communities,” Blinken said alongside Ouattara.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises is currently carrying out transactions for the sale of five power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects at a cost of about $1.15bn, it was gathered on Tuesday.
Although sources familiar with the development explained that the cost of the plants should exceed $5bn based on international benchmark, they revealed that the BPE was planning to sell the facilities at a price that is a little above $1.1bn
The acting Director-General, BPE, Ignatius Ayewoh, confirmed to our correspondent in a brief telephone conversation that “the transaction is ongoing,” adding that “it is not concluded.”
The BPE boss did not disclose the cost for the five plants, as he quickly stated that he was in a meeting and would not be able to give additional details.
However, impeccable sources at the bureau named the five power plants to include the 434 megawatts gas-fired Geregu II power plant, located in Kogi; 451MW Omotosho II plant in Ondo; and 750MW Olorunshogo II plant in Ogun State.
Others include the 563MW Odukpami power plant in Calabar, Cross River State; and the 451MW Benin-Ihovbor plant in Edo State.
It was gathered that the Omotosho plant, which has four power generating turbines, would be sold at about $85m; while the Olorunsogo NIPP with also four turbines would cost $170m.
The Benin-Ihovbor plant with five power generating turbines would go for $420m; Calabar Odukpami plant with five turbines would be sold at about $260m; while the Geregu plant with four turbines would go $215m.
“These are Siemens turbines and each of the turbine can generate about 115MW of electricity,” one of the sources, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation, stated.
The Guardian reports that Interswitch has announced collaboration with OPay through its Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG) to advance the payments systems.
This integration enables OPay users to seamlessly make direct payments for goods and services on merchants’ websites from their OPay wallet.
This strategic alliance is aimed at redefining the digital payment experience, providing users with a secure and frictionless payment solution, a statement by Interswitch said
The incorporation of OPay into the suite of checkout payment options on the Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG) adds a new layer of convenience for users, complementing the existing array of payment methods such as card, Quickteller, transfer, QR and USSD.
Managing Director of Digital Commerce and Merchant Acquiring (Paymate), Interswitch, Muyiwa Asagba, emphasized the significance of the partnership in advancing the growth of digital payments in the country.
“At Interswitch, our commitment is to cater to the evolving needs of consumers and merchants, fostering a more inclusive and dynamic digital payment ecosystem. Through our latest collaboration with OPay, we are excited to introduce a new dimension of payment convenience to users and merchants.
“This partnership reflects our dedication to introducing innovations that enhance the digital payment experience, and we are eager to witness the positive impact it will have on the entire payment ecosystem,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has faulted the planned sale of Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) Onshore Assets to the Renaissance Group, alleging that the group is an assembly of unknown entities with no proven track record in managing such diverse assets.
General Secretary, PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, in a statement, yesterday, threatened that any attempt to transfer the asset without resolving issues affecting its members would be met with the kind of resistance the oil and gas industry had ever witnessed.
Stating that the industry regulator, JV asset partners (NNPCL) and other stakeholders have been put on notice, he said the Renaissance is a group consisting of ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Plc, The Petrolin Group, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited and the Waltersmith Group.
He said after reviewing the union’s Shell/SNBO Branch presentation rejected, without equivocation, all the terms affecting employees that were communicated in the presentation to its members.
Okugbawa alleged that one of the companies that make up the consortium has a history of subjugating workers and subjecting them to untold hardship as exemplified in the management of OML 34.
He also alleged that another company in the group has a penchant for preventing workers from unionising, thus stifling their condition of services.
The PENGASSAN chief said the group must come clean with its intention(s) and be ready to have a serious engagement with the association and not the alleged jamboree that Shell management is currently engaged in.
GIK/APA