The claim by the Electricity Distribution Companies that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) contributes to the erratic power supply in the country and the challenges ahead of the planned concession of the airports by the government are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
ThisDay reports that the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) have painted an unflattering picture of how the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) contributes to the erratic power supply in the country, describing the only government-controlled company in the supply value chain as a major threat to the power sector.
The Discos, in their Q2 (2020) report, a copy which THISDAY obtained at the weekend, said apart from inconsistent improvements prompted by seasonal changes, the electricity wheeled to the power distributors remain largely poor.
The power distributors added that the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collections (ATC&C) losses increased to 45.7 per cent by the end of June, from 43.3 per cent in March, thus changing the declining trend that had been achieved in the last three years.
The report by the Association of Nigerians Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of the Discos, said since 2015, the TCN had not improved on its capacity to transmit electricity to them (Discos).
It stated that whereas the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency (NERC) gave the TCN a target to support the evacuation of power by about 50 percent between 2016 and 2019, the company has performed by just about 13 percent.
The Guardian says that the Federal Government’s plan to concession airports has run into difficulties over an existing debt and pact with China to build four new terminals at the cost of $500 million.
The “concession within concession”, according to the coalition of aviation workers’ unions, is untidy and not in the best interest of the country. Hence, this among other concerns regarding the airport concessioning should first be resolved.
A group of former Managing Directors and Directors of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) warned against a Mezzanine Clause in all Chinese sponsored projects, adding that any contravention of agreement with China on the $500m loan for the construction of the new terminal buildings may lead to invocation of the clause.
In reaction to these concerns, the House of Representatives has set up a sub-committee to interface with the Ministry of Aviation, the financial adviser (FAD) and the project delivery team (PDT) on the proposed airports concessioning.
The Punch reports that the House of Representatives has summoned the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over non-remittance of $19.25bn (approximately N3.24tn) revenue that accrued from sales of crude oil in 2014.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, issued the summons based on audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation for the period.
The committee had penultimate week accused the NNPC GMD of refusing to respond to an audit query issued against the corporation over alleged illegal withdrawals from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited’s Dividends Account, totalling of $20.3bn.
Kyari, who has yet to appear before the lawmakers on the NLNG matter, had denied the allegation elsewhere.
The newspaper says that the exemption of small businesses from the payment of tertiary education tax has been proposed in the draft Finance Bill 2020.
This was disclosed by the Fiscal Policy Reforms Committee, established by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and chaired by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu.
The Chairman, Drafting Sub-committee and member of Fiscal Policy Reforms Committee, Mr Ajibola Olomola, said the proposal for Finance Bill 2020 “is to introduce an amendment to the Tertiary Education Tax Act to exempt small businesses from Tertiary Education Tax”.
According to the committee, currently, all companies registered in Nigeria are required to pay TET at two per cent of assessable profits for each year of assessment. It noted that the Finance Act 2019 introduced companies income tax exemption for small businesses.
The Sun reports that the Nigerian workers, under the umbrella of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) have warned the Federal Government against further increase in the pump price of petrol, popularly known as premium motor spirit (PMS) or fuel.
The NUCFRLANMPE’s president, Goke Olatunji, on Friday, said hike in fuel pump price was not acceptable to the union as it would further impoverish Nigerians.
Olatunji, speaking at the union’s Central Working Committee’s meeting and long service award ceremony for staff and elected members, said lots of Nigerians depend on petrol one way or the other, hence, any further increase in this period when the country is going through economic challenges would be detrimental to many.
“Petroleum is essential to many, if you are not using it for your cars, then it is used for generators to provide electricity as the nation has continued to find it difficult to provide solutions to the epileptic power situation in the country,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said the permit granted to Dangote, BUA, and an unnamed gas firm to transport their products through the land borders is a step in the right direction, as it shows that the border is about to be reopened.
The Acting Director General of MAN, Mr. Ambrose Oruche who made the assertion, in response to the outcry of Nigerians who queried Federal Government’s decision on the waiver, noted that the move was a pointer that more companies will soon be permitted.
Oruche believes that the permit given to these companies was not discriminatory as widely believed, noting that it is a test run, which is part of the process to see to the broader reopening of the border.
“With this, we will be able to know how it will work. If they see how this one plays out, they will be able to know how it will work and then proceed to do the needful, adding that the closure is not a sustainable thing.
According to him, the circular sent to him from the Nigerian Customs Service, shows that only cement would be exported across the border, with the trucks returning empty without importing any goods.
GIK/APA