The report that over 1000megawatts of electricity are currently not allocated to power distribution companies despite low generation by Nigeria’s 23 power plants is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that over 1000megawatts of electricity are currently not allocated to power distribution companies (DisCos) despite low generation by Nigeria’s 23 power plants.
Checks by The PUNCH on Monday revealed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria failed to allocate 1,357MW of electricity from a paltry 3, 871MW generated on Sunday.
According to data collected from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator, an arm of TCN, nine DisCos out of 11 were on Sunday allocated a total of 2, 514MW, leaving 1,357 unallocated.
Nigeria’s power generation has been on a record low of not up to 4000MW in the last two years.
While generating companies have blamed the situation largely on inability of TCN to transmit quantum of power generated to DisCos, the DisCos have most times dragged TCN for weak transmission lines, low allocation, liquidity gap and others. The TCN, on the other hand, sometimes accuses the DisCos of load rejection.
The newspaper says that the Christian Association of Nigeria says it will go ahead with its nationwide protests against the lynching of Deborah Yakubu, a 200-level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was stoned to death and burnt for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Muhammad.
This is despite a ban on religious protests by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; an appeal by Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, and moves by some northern governors for CAN to shelve its planned protests.
Also CAN chapters in Plateau and Benue states, which are the umbrella bodies for churches in the two states, said they would organise protests against Deborah’s killing.
The spokesman for the CAN President, Rev. Bayo Oladeji, said the protests would hold on Sunday nationwide. Oladeji, however, said the protests would take place in front of CAN secretariats in various states or major churches, adding that there would be no procession.
Responding to a question, the cleric said, “Of course, the nationwide protests will continue. We are not going to take to the streets so nobody should stop us from gathering in front of our premises. We will be by CAN secretariats and lift up our placards.
“In cities where there are no CAN secretariats, we will use big churches to stage protests. We know too well that if we take to the streets, they will use thugs to hijack it. So, we will gather in front of our churches. We are not going to take to the streets.”
The Guardian reports that poor implementation of the patronage policy, high cost of production, high level of importation, smuggling among other challenges have continued to undermine Nigeria’s textile sector, shrinking the number of viable textile firms to less than 20 from 175 firms in 1985.
According to the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), the textile sector, which used to be the highest employer of labour, lost at least 117,000 jobs within 26 years, with more losses underway without government’s intervention.
The association noted that the industry’s declining export capacity, having led to the loss of preferential market access in the EU and US, was attributable to inconsistent implementation of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) policy, particularly, the perennial backlog of EEG claims, and the inconsistencies in the implementation of ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme.
NTMA added other factors to include, high-cost production that has rendered its products non-competitive; unrestrained smuggling and counterfeiting of Made-in-Nigeria textiles; poor patronage despite Federal Government’s Executive Order 003 of 2017, inadequate and costly electricity supply, poor infrastructure, high taxation and interest rates, high cost of diesel and LPFO and the depreciating value of the naira.
NTMA President, Folorunsho Daniyan, while speaking on the state of the textile industry in Nigeria and its lack of competitive edge, noted that its membership had shrunk from 175 firms in 1985 to less than 20 in 2022.
“Employment-wise, the number of jobs provided by the industry took a dive from 137,000 jobs in 1996 to 24,000 jobs in 2008. Today the number of jobs provided in the industry is less than 20,000 jobs,” explained Daniyan.
The Nation reports that the United States is set for a parley with Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, South Africa, Zambia and Senegal.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with officials from these countries on May 18 in New York.
A statement from the spokesperson of the Department of State, Ned Price, said the United States was committed to ending hunger, malnutrition and building more sustainable, food systems at home and abroad.
“In support of these ongoing efforts, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to New York City May 18-19 to convene meetings to mobilise action on global food security,” the statement said.
Secretary Blinken will also meet with Pakistani and Turkish Foreign Ministers. He will chair a “Global Food Security Call to Action” with a focus on strengthening global food security, nutrition, and resilience.
“On May 19, Secretary Blinken will chair the first signature event of the United States’ presidency of the UN Security Council: an open debate focusing on the critical links between conflict and food security. Following this debate, he will meet with UN Secretary-General Guterres to discuss the global response to the acute human suffering in and around Ukraine,” the statement added.
The Sun says that the Federal Government has expressed hope that Dangote Refinery, when fully operational, as well as the fixing of Port Harcourt Refinery will end the perennial scarcity of aviation fuel (JET A1) in the country.
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated this while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, after he led Secretary General of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Mr Juan Carlos Salazar, and his delegation to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The minister, who reiterated that the high cost and scarcity of Jet A1 in Nigeria is linked to the high demand for crude oil, and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, said Nigeria not refining crude was also contributing to the crisis.
In the past few weeks, domestic airlines have complained about the spike in the price of aviation fuel and have threatened to withdraw their services.
Speaking on plans to address the Jet A1 scarcity, Sirika said: “Well, we explained that the scarcity and high cost of Jet A1 in civil aviation is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global phenomenon driven by many factors. Some of them include even low capacity to refine the product.
“It’s also in high demand around the world; it has increased activity and increased the number of airplanes out there and users of this jet A1. Plus the Ukraine crisis and many more. It’s a time when crude itself is so expensive. Today, it is in the hundreds of dollars per barrel and not only the high cost of Jet A1 product in Nigeria. Also, the peculiarity of the fact that we’re not refining the product, so to speak.
“I did address the press a couple of days ago, saying that, by the grace of God, perhaps, once the Dangote refinery is online or if the government fixes the Port Harcourt refinery, which is now ongoing, we will begin to refine this product and sell it.
GIK/APA