The report that the Federal Government, through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has completed about 105 projects between 2015 and 2022 in a move to strengthen substations and power transmission networks in the country is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Government, through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has completed about 105 projects between 2015 and 2022 in a move to strengthen substations and power transmission networks.
Another $2 billion worth of projects funded by international donors, especially Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), African Development Bank, World Bank and French Development Agency, are similarly targeted to overhaul the national grid.
In 2013, the Federal Government took a bold step of privatising the power sector. The change in ownership was against the backdrop of the despondent nature of the sector, which affected standards of living and crippled economic growth.
Although Nigeria has about 13,000MW generation capacity, bottlenecks have hindered dispatch to homes and industries as less than 5,000MW is transmitted and distributed.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu insisted that the project being completed by the TCN would provide succour to the state of the supply.
Aliyu, in a document made available to journalists noted that 105 Power Transformer projects were completed during the period 2015 – 2022 to add a capacity of 6,216MVA to the grid, with 73 of the power transformers installed by TCN engineers in substations across the nation.
Aliyu noted that a total of up to 900 kilometres of reconductoring and construction of new transmission lines was completed during the period 2015 – 2022. Some of the key lines, he said included reconductoring of 140km 132kV Birnin- Kebbi to Sokoto transmission line (April 2021), completion of 330kV Aloji – Ikot Ekpene transmission line,completion of 132kV Ihovbor – Okada transmission line, completion of 330kV Gombe – Damaturu transmission line among others.
Aliyu stated further that some transmission line projects are nearing completion and expected to be commissioned by the first six months of 2023.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government, yesterday, in Abuja, recorded a historical moment with the return of a record number of Benin bronzes by the Federal Republic of Germany.
The official handover of the repatriated 1,130 Benin bronzes by Germany was witnessed by the Foreign Minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock; Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Lai Mohammed; Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media of Germany, Claudia Roth and other officials from both countries.
Mohammed, who received the Germans, said the Federal Government was embarking on infrastructural development around the National Museum in Benin City to accommodate the returned artefacts.
He said this would be in addition to the infrastructural developments initiated by other stakeholders in the country and the immense support of foreign partners, particularly Germany.
“Easily, Benin City will become a cultural hub for Africa,” he added.
The minister expressed appreciation to Germany for not stopping at mere announcement of the return of the artefacts, but following up till the repatriation process was completed.
He recalled that when Germany announced returning the Benin bronzes, the world took the news with a pinch of salt. However, Germany followed up with a visit to Nigeria by high-ranking officials in March 2021 to further assure Nigeria.
Because of what Germany has done, said Mohammed, negotiations with other nations, institutions and museums for repatriation of the Benin bronzes in their possession became swifter.
He called on other nations, institutions, museums and private collectors still in possession of Nigerian antiquities to release them.
This development followed the efforts of Netherlands, which, in October 2020, returned a 600-year-old Ife Terracotta; the University of Aberdeen and Jesus College of the University of Cambridge for returning the Benin bronzes in their possession; the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which returned Ife and Benin bronzes, and the Horniman Museums and Gardens in London, which, in October, 2022, signed the legal transfer of 72 Benin bronzes.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government, on Tuesday, said it was working to ensure that all local and international oil companies returned to full capacity production of crude oil in Nigeria.
Major oil producers in Nigeria have drastically cut down on crude oil production due to the widespread vandalism of pipelines and oil theft in the Niger Delta region by criminals.
The decisions of the oil companies have affected the volume of daily crude oil production, leading to humongous revenue loss for the country.
But in the last few months, the improved security surveillance along the major crude oil corridors has helped to improve oil output from about 900,000 barrels per day in September to between 1.4 and 1.6 million barrels per day in December, according to senior government officials.
But the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, while speaking in Abuja on Monday at a meeting with the team from Eni SpA, said the Federal Government would continue to improve security along the tracks of the major crude oil pipelines and block every leakage.
Sylva was quoted in a statement issued by his media aide, Horatius Egua, as saying, “I am happy to hear from you (Eni) that you have increased your crude oil production to 15,000 barrels per day as a result of the efforts of government in protecting the pipelines in the region. I assure you that this trend will continue.”
Sylva added that the desire of the Federal Government was to “see all the oil majors across the country return to their full production capacity to boost revenue for the government,” and also to help the country meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ obligations.
He said, “We will continue to work to bring stability and build confidence for everyone to return to the field to produce their maximum capacity.”
By this efforts, he said the Federal Government was targeting full production capacity of up to three million barrels of crude oil production daily.
The newspaper says that the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, Mr Zacch Adedeji, has said the Federal Government is committed to using the sugar master plan to reduce poverty and unemployment in the country.
Adedeji stated this during the groundbreaking of N300bn Brent Sugar Plantation and Mill on Tuesday in Iseyin, Oyo State.
The Brent Sugar Plantation and Mill is sited on 11,000 hectares of land along Iseyin-Ogbomoso road.
About 6,000 hectares will be irrigated from a canal to be fed by water Ikere Gorge Dam established by the Federal Government in 1983.
Adedeji said that the investment by Brent Sugar was a demonstration by the federal government toward building a productive country.
He said the government must do everything to get the private sector to venture into projects that will lift Nigerians, particularly the youths, out of poverty.
He said, “One of the major tools that we have and which can help us take the youths out of poverty is the sugarcane-based industries.
“We must commend Brent Sugar Limited for deeming it fit to establish this kind of project in this environment. This is not only for Oyo State but for Nigeria.
“The mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari is that we must eat what we grow and grow what we eat. This is one practical,” he said.
The President, African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, who was represented by the bank’s Senior Special Assistant on Industrialisation, Professor Oyebanji Oyelahan, said that the establishment of Brent Sugar is a path to industrialisation and economic prosperity.
He urged the people to cooperate with the company, saying there was a lot to benefit as a community and a nation.
GIK/APA