Nigerian press spotlights issuance 13 new power generation, distribution licences, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued 13 new licences for the generation of off-grid and embedded power, independent electricity distribution, as well as for the trading of electricity is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Federal Government through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued 13 new licences for the generation of off-grid and embedded power, independent electricity distribution, as well as for the trading of electricity.
It said the new licences were issued in the third quarter of 2023, as the cumulative quantum of electricity to be generated by the licensees was 40.9 megawatts
Under the section titled, ‘Licences and Permits Issued or Renewed,’ in the latest third quarter 2023 report of NERC, it was revealed that five new off-grid generation licences that would generate 8.81MW were issued during the review period, as well as one new licence for embedded generation of 5MW.
On other licences that were issued, the commission said, “One new licence for Independent Electricity Distribution Network, one new licence for trading, three off-grid generation licences, one embedded generation, and one IEDN licence.”
It explained that the commission issues licences for electricity generation, transmission, distribution, trading and system operations in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry.
The newspaper says that the scourge of abductions which has strangulated social and economic activities in the North-West has spread nationwide as bandits and other criminal elements have moved their operations into the major cities across the country.
The hoodlums, who hitherto operated on highways and in rural communities, have in recent times escalated their attacks on residents of Lagos, Abuja, and other urban centres.
The killing of four abducted victims from the Sagwari Estate Layout in Dutsen-Alhaji area, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, ignited a groundswell of anger on Monday, as the bandits who kidnapped seven family members demanded N700m for their release.
The hoodlums had Friday killed Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, over alleged delay in providing the ransom, generating a firestorm of anger across the country and on social media.
As of Monday night, the remaining five sisters, including Najeebah, a 500-level Quantity Surveying student, and Nadherah, a 300-level Zoology student, are still in captivity.
‘’As of today they’ve, killed my first born Michelle Ariyo (age 13) and dumped her corpse on Kaduna Road while threatening to kill my three remaining children (who are all minors) and wife, who are still in captivity. Please and please sir, I urgently need the intervention of the NBA. When will these kidnappings end, when will the government pretend to be serious about this insecurity in our country? God help us all.”
Meanwhile, no fewer than 9,754 were killed while there were 4,049 abduction cases across the country between January and December 2023.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), yesterday, asked refinery managers across the world, especially original manufacturers, who have maintained at least $2 billion yearly turnover in the last four years to take control of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
The facility, being rehabilitated for $1.5 billion, has two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new one 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.
NNPCL, in an Expression of Interest (EOI) posted on its website, noted that the financial details of the organisations must be audited in the last four years, while they must have experience working in Nigeria and other African countries as a record of local content compliance.
The company said the contract would be long-term and short-term production/operations planning, production and operations execution, monitoring, reporting and optimisation of operations, maintenance planning (short-term), maintenance execution, reliability and inspection.
It added that the lucky firm would also process and undertake engineering quality control, quality assurance and laboratory, specialist engineering, health and safety, environmental management, turnaround maintenance planning and execution, minor projects, non-hydrocarbon procurement and sub-contractor management.
Last month, NNPCL announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation of the unit which would process 60,000 barrels per day. The unit is to produce an estimated 10.2 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (APMS) daily.
The newspaper says that Nigeria’s leading investment immigration wealth management company, Optiva Capital Partners Limited, has launched a new product tagged Diaspora Investor Direct Investment (DIDI)
Announcing the introduction of the unique product at a dinner last week, the Chairman of Optiva Capital Partners, Franklin Nechi, said DIDI, which is “our unique product to attract diaspora funds and investments into the country”, aims at attracting $5 billion into the country yearly.
“The objective is to stand in the gap for Nigerians in the diaspora who seek to remit funds home for investment purposes because most of them are afraid of losing their funds to unscrupulous persons or agents, so we bridge that gap,” Nechi said.
According to him, Nigeria’s diaspora funds are ranked amongst the top five globally, estimated at $100 billion yearly. He DIDI would leverage capital structure, infrastructure and other wealth management skills to get five per cent of the fund channelled into productive investments in the country for a good return for the investors and higher foreign exchange liquidity for the economy.
On the implementation modalities, Nechi explained that the company would leverage its experience, integrity and rich network to get the buy-in of Nigerians in the diaspora who want to build homes at home or create other businesses to channel their money home for those purposes.
With the virtual growing in leaps, he said, there would not be a challenge in establishing monitoring platforms to enable the investors to see where their money is going.
“We help the diasporans to create an enabling environment that will ensure that they track the progress of their investments. With DIDI, we shall help investors manage the risks associated with the repatriation of funds back to the country for investments, ranging from property development, farms to cottage factories.”
The investment expert reiterated that the company has created structures that will help Nigerians in the diaspora to manage businesses back home end-to-end. The company, he said, handles land acquisition, proper registration of titles and setting up of business structures for the clients.
GIK/APA