COVER
Army, Air Force, Navy Promote 277 Senior Officers
By Gom Mirian, Abuja
The Nigerian military has carried out massive promotion of officers in the Nigerian Army (NA), Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigerian Navy (NN).
The promotion exercise released Sunday, showed that the Army approved the elevation of 74 senior officers, the NAF promoted 99, while the Nigerian Navy elevated 104 senior officers to various ranks.
The Nigerian Army Council disclosed in a statement signed by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa and made available to newsmen yesterday, that 31 officers were promoted to the position of Majors General, while 43 officers got elevated to the position of Brigadiers-General.
Sequel to this, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai, congratulated the beneficiaries and charged them to redouble their efforts in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Those promoted to the rank of Major General are:Brigadier General S Idris, Defence Headquarters Abuja, Brigadier General DC Onyemulu, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre Oshodi Lagos, Brigadier General BO Sawyer Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans, Brigadier General GS Abdullahi Defence Headquarters Abuja, Brigadier General IM Obot Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja, Brigadier General AL Lawal, Nigerian High Commission, Cairo Egypt, Brigadier General LA Adegboye, Headquarters 82 Division Enugu, Brigadier General AB Ibrahim Army Headquarters Training and Operations, Brigadier General PB Fakroga Headquarters Nigerian Army Women Corps, Brigadier General CK Nwosu Nigerian Army Special Forces School, Buni Yadi, and Brigadier General HI Bature, Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command, Minna.
The others are Brigadier Generals AL Dusu, Defence Headquarters, Abuja, MA Masanawa, Ammunition Central Depot Agunu, Kachia, JA Ataguba, Land Forces Simulation Centre, Abuja, AE Attu, National Defence College, Abuja, BA Isandu, Nigerian Army Intelligence School, Lagos, SS Araoye, Command Engineering Depot Kaduna, MS Ahmed, SI List Nigerian Embasy Riyad, GAT Ochigbano, Army Headquarters Department of Military Secretary, TA Lagbaja, Headquarters 2 Brigade Abak Uyo, LA Fejokwu, Army Headquarters Department of Administration ‘Army’, PE Eromosele, National Defence College, Abuja, AM Alabi, Headquarters Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri, GO Adesina, Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans, MM Bunza, Nigerian Military School Zaria, AA Adesope, Directorate of Audit and Financial Management Office of the Chief of Army Staff, KI Muktar, Army Headquarters Department of Administration ‘Army’, OO Olatunde, Headquarters 35 Brigade, – (posthumously promoted), EA Ndagi, Office of the National Security Adviser, KO Aligbe Defence Headquarters, UA Yusuf, African Standby Force ECOWAS Headquarters, Abuja, OC Ajunwa, Nigerian Embassy Brasilia, FO Omoigui Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations, OA Akinyemi Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Badagry, Lagos among others.
For the position of Brigadiers-General, the following officers were elevated and they include BYD Sakaba, Defence Headquarters Abuja, AY Bwala 302 Artillery Regiment Onitsha, AA Adekoya, Defence Intelligence Agency, NJ Edet Headquarters 81 Division, Lagos, EC Obi-Osang, Headquarters Nigerian Army Special Forces Command, Buni Yadi, AO Arogbofa, Headquarters 102 Division Equipment Support, S Nicodemus, Headquarters 6 Division Portharcourt, WB Idris, 17 Brigade, Katsina, IO Olatunji, Headquarters 8 Division, Sokoto, ST Audu, Headquarters 21 Brigade, Yola, UT Opuene, Headquarters Infantry Corps Centre, Jaji, MD Abumawashi, Headquarters Op LAFIA DOLE, Maiduguri, LG Lepdung, Headquarters Infantry Corps, Jaji, Kaduna, AOD Okoro, Department Administration ‘Army’, ASM Wase, Department of Training and Operations ‘Army’, AL Okpodu, Nigerian Army Aviation, S Nuhu, Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations, EO OJO, Special Task Force, Operation SAFE HAVEN, JR Lar, 31 Artillery Brigade Garrison, Minna, SJA Ilori, Department of Army Transformation and Innovation.
Also elevated to Brigadier Generals are NB Ebulue Defence Intelligence Agency, KO Ukandu Army Headquarters Department of Administration, AG Laka Army War College, Abuja, EI Etuk, Multinational Joint Task Force N’Djamena, ME Onoja, 1 Military Intelligence Brigade, Kaduna, EI Okoro, Nigerian Army War College, MB Wabili, Nigerian Army Super Camp Benisheik, KE Chigbu Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations, SO Nwafor 303 Artillery Regiment General Support and I Otu Headquarters 7 Division Maiduguri.
Others are SO Adejimi, Headquarters 6 Division Supply and Transport, SD Makolo Headquarters Department of Transformation and Innovation, VD Beryo Headquarters Ordnance Corps, MO Erebulu 2 Provost Group, Ibadan, A Idris, Directorate of Army Reserve Recruitment and Resettlement Rear, CA Ataki Department of Policy and Plans ‘Army’, FO Omata, Special Task Force Operation SAFE HAVEN, CC Ogbu, Institute of Army Education, AE Owiriwa 82 Division Ordnance Services, ROO Cole, Nigerian Army Ordnance Tailoring Factory Yaba, Lagos, TI Gusau, Nigerian Army Resource Centre Abuja, GC Nkenke, 8 Division Supply and Transport and M Galadima, Headquarters Nigerian Army Finance Corps Apapa, Lagos, M Auta, Nigerian Army University Biu, O Nwachukwu Defence Headquarters Defence Information, I Ahmed Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna, S Nuhu Army Headquarters Department of Administration and AAW Hassan Armed Forces Command and Staff College among others.
NAF Promotes 13 Air Vice Marshall, 86 Other Senior Officers.
Similarly, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) council, during the weekend approved the promotion of number of ninety – nine (99) senior air officers to the next higher ranks in the force.
The senior Air Officers affected in the shake-up includes 13 Air Commodores who were promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshall (AVM), 35 Group Captains (Gp Capts) who were promoted to the rank of Air Commodore and 51 wing Commanders to the rank of Group captains respectively.
In a breakdown, those promoted to the rank of AVM are namely; Air Commodore Ayoola Jolasinmi, Hassan Abubakar, Jackson Yusuf, Austine Imafidor, Dalhat Ladan and Pius Oahimire.
Similarly, Cosmas Ozougwu, Sunday Makinde, Ado Inuwa, Ademola Durotoye, Isah Muhammad, Abubakar Adamu and Abubakar Yusuf were as well promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshall.
Those elevated from the rank of Group Captains to Air Commodores are Abdullahi Bello, solomon Lazarus, Japhet Ekwuribe, Olasunkanmi Abidoye, Ahmed Idris, Ahmed Dari, Isaac Subi, Emeka Ashiegbu and Olusola Akinboyewa.
Also, Alheri Dakwat, Gambo Adamu, Olayinka Oyesola, Yuhana Katabiya, Adedoyin Oyenusi, Edward Gapkwet, Friday Ekpah, Luther Kamat, Joktan Chidama, Felix Uwakara, Mikail Abdulraheem, Ernest Owai and Glenn Nkanang.
Chidiebere Obiabaka, Raphael Ojo, Mohammed Isah, Ibitoye Ajiboye, Shani Bukar, Wapkerem Maigida, Atang Sambo, Daniel Akpan, Olanrewaju Oyename, Boniface Ifeobu, Godwin Udoh, Ayodele Hanidu and Azubuike Chukwuka were also promoted to the rank of Air Cdre.
According to a statement issued by Director public relations and information NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, read that , “The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf of officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the NAF, heartily congratulates the newly promoted senior officers and urges them to see the elevation as motivation to re-dedicate themselves towards more effective and efficient service delivery.
“The newly promoted senior officers will be decorated with their new ranks at a later date” the statement read.
Nigerian Navy Elevates 140 Officers
In the same vein, the Board of the Nigerian Navy (NN) approved the promotion of 140 officers to various senior ranks.
Also, a statement from Navy Spokesman, Commodore Suleiman Dahun,said that the approval was given yesterday.
According to him, the promotion released showed that 65 Lieutenant Commanders were promoted to the rank of Commander, 26 Commanders were promoted to Captain, 32 Captains to Commodore and 17 Commodores were promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.
Those promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral include Dickson Olisemenogor Elkanah, Jaiyeola Baribuma Kole Othaniel Filafa Akinga Ayafa Danjuma Moses Vincent Okeke, Yakubu Wambai, Emmanuel Beckley Perry Onwuzulike Nuhu Bala Chukwu Okafor Tanko Pani Ibrahim Dewu Monday Unurhiere Joseph Akpan and Olumuyiwa Olotu.
Those would, henceforth, be addressed as Commodore are Kabir Mohammed Shehu Gombe Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Katagum Gideon Kachim Semiu Adepegba Pakiribo Anabraba Bob-Manuel Effiong Suleiman Ibrahim Danjuma Ndanusa Haruna Zego Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan Victor Choji Mohammed Dahiru, Nnamdi Ekwom Stephen Ibrahim Desmond Igbo Mohammed Muye Kunle Oguntuga Aniefiok Uko, Olufemi Adeleke Etop Ebe, Usman Faruk, Paul Efe-Oghene, Michael Igwe Ikenna Ubani Musliu Yusuff Samuel Ngatuwa Omotola Olukoya Dolapo Shittu Abiodun Alade and Emmanuel Anakwe.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Olayemi Cardoso has said that conflicts and natural disasters have put countries’ financial stability at risk.Cardoso stated this in Abuja at the Joint World Bank/IMF/WAIFEM Regional Training on Medium Term Debt Management Strategy in Abuja yesterday.
The CBN Governor who was represented by the Director of the Monetary Policy Department, Dr. Mohammed Tumala said, “Following the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other developments such as geopolitical conflicts and natural disasters, the financial strain on our sub-region has escalated, posing a threat to their macroeconomic and financial stability and prospects for faster recovery. ”He argued that the way countries manage debt owed to the Paris Club may not be as effective for this new set of lenders.Cardoso expressed concern that this new debt landscape could pose a threat to financial stability and economic recovery for many countries.The CBN governor said, “Public debt dynamics are increasingly influenced by significant debt servicing obligations to non-Paris Club members and private lenders, including commercial banks and bond investors.“This shift in the debt structure represents a critical evolution in the global financial framework, with profound ramifications for public debt management in our countries.”Similarly, the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) warned that Nigeria is at a high risk of falling into debt distress and urged the federal government to look for ways of improving revenue generation.Speaking with journalists, the Director-General of WAIFEM, Dr. Baba Musa said, “When you compare Nigeria with the rest of the world or peer countries, you realize that with the 37 percent debt to GDP ratio, we still have room to borrow but the issue with the Nigerian debt is you don’t use GDP to pay debts rather you use the revenue to pay for any debt.“If you look at it from the revenue side Nigeria is at a high risk of debt distress in terms of our borrowing so what we need to do now is to step up our capacity to generate revenue, the more revenue we have, the less ratio of debt to revenue we have.”Musa said WAIFEM “is very much in support of what the federal government is doing because there is a window for the government to raise more revenue, all that the people need to do is to support the federal government diversify the sources of revenue and of course generate more sources of revenue. Once we have this, we don’t have debt problem but rather revenue problem.”According to him, “What the Medium Term Debt Strategy does is that it smoothens the debt service so that going forward when borrowing, you take into consideration the redemption profile that you have and the type of loans that you have in your existing portfolio and then it will enable you also to minimise the cost and risk the future loans will add to the debt portfolio.”In May 2023, the International Monetary Fund said that Sub-Saharan Africa could stand to lose the most if the world were split into two isolated trading blocs centred around China or the United States and the European Union.In this severe scenario, sub-Saharan African economies could experience a permanent decline of up to four percent of real gross domestic product after 10 years according to estimates—losses larger than what many countries experienced during the Global Financial Crisis.
From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
In a significant step in its net zero vision, APM Terminals’ West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) has signed a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with pan-African clean energy company, Starsight Energy for a 1.2 Gigawatt hour (GWh) solar power for its facility in Onne Port, Rivers State.
The project, will cover approximately 30 per cent of the total terminal consumption and reduce its carbon footprint/CO2 emissions by circa 15 million Kg, shows WACT’s commitment to lead Eastern ports energy transition journey in alignment with the APM Terminals’ overall strategy of decarbonising its operations across the globe. “The topic of decarbonisation and green energy is something I am passionate about. A year or two back, when we brought this topic up, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure we would reach here,” WACT Managing Director, Jeethu Jose, said during the signing of the PPA.” According to him, Nigeria plays a key role in the overall group’s strategy to decarbonise the entire industry in the world, and “for me and all of us in the room, this is the first big step towards that journey. Today is a moment we record in WACT’s history as something that we would all be proud of.”For the Managing Director of Starsight Energy, Ladi Sanni, the partnership supports the company’s mission of building a long-term relationship and assisting global brands like APM Terminals’ WACT transit diversified energy supply by harnessing the power of clean, renewable energy sources, such as solar.Describing the PPA as proof of WACT’s forward-thinking energy management and environmental stewardship approach, Sanni said the deal “involves installing a 1092kWp solar-only system, which will be executed via a PPA.“The project impact will substantially reduce WACT’s carbon footprint/CO2 emissions by circa 15 million Kg over the contract tenor. This project also aligns with the broader objectives of moving away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels toward cleaner energy, which positively impacts the wider Nigerian energy sector.“Starsight Energy will leverage its expertise in power generation, using solar renewable energy sources and cutting-edge, data-driven technology to provide value to WACT.”WACT, owned by APM Terminals terminal and located in the Oil and Gas Free Zone in Onne Port, is the first greenfield container terminal in Nigeria to be built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.Over the years, it has grown to become the most efficient gateway to markets outside West Nigeria and remains a major gateway to Eastern Nigeria.
By David Torough, Abuja
Following criticisms by Nigerians, the Nigeria Electricity Regulations Commission (NERC) yesterday approved reduction of electricity traffic for customers under Band A from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh.On April 3, customers were startled when NERC announced an upward review of electricity tariff for Band A customers from N68 per kilowatt-hour to N255/KWh.
The 8. 1 percent downward review is effective May 6 with guaranteed availability of 20-24hrs supply daily. In compliance with this directive, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) has slashed the tariff payable by its Band A customers to N206.80 per kilowatt-hour from the N225/kWh approved by NERC.The spokesperson for the IKEDC, Olufadeke Omo-Omorodion, disclosed this in a notice yesterday.IKEDC said, “Dear Esteemed Customers, please be informed of the downward tariff review of our Band A feeders from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh effective 6th May 2024 with guaranteed availability of 20-24hrs supply daily.“The tariff for Bands B, C, D, and E remains unchanged,” the IKEDC stated.Since the release of the supplementary Multi-Year Tariff Order, consumers categorised as Band A lamented saying the hike in electricity tariff weighed heavily on their finances.They appealed to the Federal Government to reverse the policy.The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told the Federal Government to prepare for the consequences of the tariff hike, which it described as wicked and unpopular, stressing that since the government preferred to listen to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it should be ready to face the consequences.The Head of Information, NLC, Benson Upah said, “We did say earlier that this tariff hike is insensitive and unpopular.“So if the government elects to continue with the hike or persists in something that is evil, I’m sure it is equally prepared for the consequences of that evil.”On Sunday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Florence Eke faulted the organised labour’s opposition to the electricity tariff hike.According to her, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu’s justification of the electricity tariff hike at the Senate public hearing last week was still valid as government would “not toe the path of trade unions” on the matter.The spokeswoman maintained that the burden of the electricity subsidy was too much for government to bear.Appearing before the Senate Committee on Power at an investigative hearing over the tariff hike last week, Adelabu warned that there would be total blackout in the country in the next three months if the Federal Government failed to implement the proposed electricity tariff hike.“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs.“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders.“So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.Customers await the downward review by other distribution companies across Nigeria.
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