APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that President Bola Tinubu may hold a second meeting with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States in the coming days as the one-week ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic ended on Sunday is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that President Bola Tinubu may hold a second meeting with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States in the coming days as the one-week ultimatum issued to the military junta in Niger Republic ended on Sunday
A presidential aide said that Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, might convene another meeting to take a final decision on the resolutions reached at the June 30 meeting of the regional body in Abuja.
Speaking on Sunday, the source who does not want to be named, said the ECOWAS would meet again in Abuja to decide on the next line of action.
“The heads of government would reconvene to decide on the next option. But no date has been fixed for the meeting where a final decision would be made on how to deal with the situation in Niger,” the senior official stated.
The spokesman for ECOWAS, Amos Lungu, could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
ECOWAS had last week issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military junta in the Niger Republic led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, to restore ousted President Muhammed Bazoum to office.
The newspaper says that Nigeria can generate about 427,000 megawatts of electricity from solar energy that comes from the sun, power generation companies have said.
Nigeria currently generates less than 5,000MW for more than 200 million people.
For instance, data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power, on Sunday, showed that power generation on the grid as of 6am was 3,803.6MW.
The Chief Executive Officer, Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, while making a presentation titled, ‘The Electricity Act 2023: Options for renewable energy penetration and role of stakeholders’, said more than 420,000MW of power could be generated from solar energy in Nigeria.
She spoke at a one-day workshop on renewable energy penetration and roles of stakeholders, organised by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Association-Alliance in Abuja.
She said, “The potential of renewable energy in Nigeria is huge. The country has solar radiation of 3.5 to 7.0 kWh/m2 per day, and 427,000MW can be generated in Nigeria from solar alone!
“Hydro resources are estimated at 14,750MW. Wind speeds of 2-5m/s with a potential of 150,000 TJ per year.”
Explaining the current renewable energy situation in Nigeria, the Gencos official said there was no renewable energy generation connected at the distribution, or transmission level, though there were targets.
The Guardian reports that the SOCIO-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued President Bola Tinubu at the Federal High Court, Lagos, over failure to publish spending details of about N400 billion saved as a result of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol.
The suit followed reports that the Federal Government saved N400 billion within four weeks, following implementation of the policy. In the suit, number FHC/L/CS/1514/2023, filed last week, SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel Tinubu to publish details of spending of about N400 billion saved as a result of the removal of subsidy on petrol on May 29, 2023.
The body is also seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel Tinubu to provide details of plans on how the savings would be spent. In the suit, SERAP is arguing that Nigerians have the right to know how the savings are spent. It said disclosing the details would reduce risks of corruption in spending of the funds.
The organisation is arguing that Tinubu’s government has a legal obligation to ensure that savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol are spent solely for the benefit of the 137 million poor Nigerians who are bearing the brunt of the policy.
SERAP said opacity in the spending would have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of citizens and the public.
According to SERAP, the savings from subsidy removal may be embezzled, misappropriated or diverted into private pockets.In the suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Ms Adelanke Aremo, and Ms Valentina Adegoke, the organisation said: “Transparency would increase public trust and confidence that these savings would be used to benefit Nigerians.
“The Nigerian Constitution, 1999 (as amended), Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their government’s activities.
“Prevention of corruption in the spending of savings from the removal of subsidy on petrol and preventing and addressing the challenges caused by the removal are serious and legitimate public interests.” No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
The newspaper says that the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI) has called for caution and counselled against military action in the Republic of Niger following Sunday’s expiration of ECOWAS deadline.
The National Publicity Secretary of AANI, retired Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja said the association strongly condemned the military seizure of power in Niger.
Usman said that AANI also supported the efforts of ECOWAS’ towards restoring democracy in the West African country.
He, however, urged ECOWAS to consider the immediate and long-term implications of its actions on the people of Niger and the wider West African sub-region.
He said addressing the root cause of political crisis in Niger and strengthening democratic institutions in the country was vital to achieving lasting peace and stability in the region.
“AANI, therefore, urges caution against immediate military action.
“Instead non-military options like diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions should be adopted towards a peaceful resolution and a quicker return to democratic governance in Niger Republic,” he said.
According to him, military action by ECOWAS may escalate the current situation into a humanitarian crisis and worsen the security challenges in the West African sub-region.
Usman said that military option might also escalate tensions in the Lake Chad region and other parts of West Africa, attracting other armed groups and external actors to take advantage.
“This would exacerbate the security challenges and create a more complex and dangerous situation.
“It is, therefore, essential to prioritise peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the political crisis,” he said.
GIK/APA