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Economy

FG, Siemens Sign 25,000MW Electricity Deal

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  • No middlemen will be involved, Says Buhari  

By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

In its continuous effort to address the epileptic power supply in the country, the Federal Government of Nigeria and German -based electricity giant – Siemens on Monday, signed an agreement to boost power supply from current 5000MW to 25,000MW by 2025.

President Muhammadu Buhari while speaking shortly after a signature ceremony for the deal said that the goal of his administration was simply to deliver electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes.

 

Buhari said that his administration’s priority was to stabilise the power generation and gas supply sector through the Payment Assurance Facility, which led to a peak power supply of 5,222 MW.

Nonetheless, the President noted that the constraints remained at the transmission and distribution systems.

He said: “This is why I directed my team to ask Siemens and our Nigerian stakeholders to first focus on fixing the transmission and distribution infrastructure – especially around economic centres where jobs are created.

“Whilst it was evident that more needed to be done to upgrade the sub-transmission and distribution system, our Government was initially reluctant to intervene as the distribution sector is already privatised. 

“I am therefore very pleased with the positive feedback from private sector owners of the distribution companies, who have all endorsed Government’s intervention to engage Siemens on this end-to-end plan to modernise the electricity grid.”

The president said that his challenge to Siemens, Nigeria’s partner investors in the Distribution Companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Electricity Regulator is to work hard to achieve 7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts by 2023 – in phases 1 and 2 respectively. 

“After these transmission and distribution system bottlenecks have been fixed, we will seek – in the third and final phase – to drive generation capacity and overall grid capacity to 25,000 megawatts. 

“With our strong commitment to the development of Mambilla Hydroelectric and the various solar projects under development across the country, the long-term power generation capacity will ensure adequate energy mix and sustainability in the appropriate balance between urban and rural electrification. 

“Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a Government-to-Government framework,” he added.

President Buhari warned that no middlemen will be involved, so as to achieve value for money for Nigerians. 

He insisted that all products be manufactured to high quality German and European standards and competitively priced.

This project, however, President Buhari acknowledged would not be the solution to all nation’s problems in the power sector. 

But he expressed confidence that it has the potential to address a significant amount of the challenges we have faced for decades. 

Meanwhile the Global Chief Executive Officer of Siemens, Joe Kaeser, who spoke to State House Correspondents after the meeting that the road map will enable Nigeria delivers the country’s capacity of power in the first phase of 7,000, second phase up to 11,000 and third phase 25,000 megawatts. 

Kaeser said: “That will significantly enhance the country’s power supply and gets the country to the next industrial phase. We believe we will all very much benefit together, the people of Nigeria and of course Siemen as a company.

“I’m very honured that we were able to sign this road map today in the presence of President and our partners. I will personally make sure that this will be the big success of Nigeria, Siemen and our partners in the country.”

On the cost of the project and how long it will last, Kaeser said: “we have really talked about solutions and how it can bring power to the people literally, from generation to transmission and effective distribution. Yes, we have been talking money at this time because this about a long term partnership and is a road map which we are going to work all the way till 2025.

“The first phase is suppose to be done by 2021, second phase till end 2022 and the final phase by 2025.”

Also, the Director General of Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, described the partnership as credible.

He said what has been done so far is the technical evaluation from both the transmission and distribution to know what the gaps are, to essentially understand what the gaps are in terms of the technical infrastructure to improve the transmission and distribution capacity.

Okoh said that the next phase is to do the detailed commercials and see costing of what the Siemen intervention will entail before they will agree on the financial frameworks to domiciled the financial commitment within the books of the DISCOS. 

“If you look at the amount of losses that is being experienced in the entire power sector, there are huge. We are talking about double digits losses between 30 percent and in some DISCOS almost 70 percent ATC and C losses. So that is a strong signal that the way the market is currently structured is not sustainable and if we don’t improve the critical infrastructure in terms of the winning capacity of TCN and also the distribution capacity of the DISCOS, then this kind of situation will persist for a long time. 

“That is why we welcome this intervention and we believe that within the timelines that have been directed by Mr. President, we will be able to significantly improve power supply in the country.”

Economy

Value Addition is new Standard in Mining Operations – Alake

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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake has declared value addition as the new indispensable standard for mining operations in the country.

Alake made the declaration in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Segun Tomori, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The minister had earlier said that the federal government had resolved to ensure compliance to value addition before permitting investors to operate.

He said that his seven-point agenda for the ministry had placed the mining sector on the global front burner since assuming office, which had generated renewed interest from the international community in Nigeria`s mineral resources.

According to the statement, the minister lauded a mining company, African Natural Resources and Mines Ltd.

(ANRML), during an inspection tour in Kaduna State, for its 600 million dollar facility dedicated to the mining and processing of magnetite iron-ore.

He described the move as in line with the government`s resolve for value addition, which is especially apt given President Bola Tinubu`s quest to develop the solid minerals, to boost Nigeria`s economic profile and to meet the global upsurge in energy transition.

“The company aligns with our vision of value addition and beneficiation through its processing of iron-ore, and I urge other mining companies to take a cue from them, “ he said.

He reiterated the government`s commitment to abstain from granting mining licenses to companies that lack the necessary plans for value addition.

The minister acknowledged that resilience, courage and laying a solid foundation were critical in contributing to the company success.

He added that such factors also serve as guidelines for President Tinubu`s administration in its efforts for economic transformation.

“ We have set our minds in this administration and invariably in Nigeria to achieve success, that is why Mr President is restructuring the economy.

“When this company (ANRML) started seven years ago, we saw one of the foundations through the video documentary, the amount of concrete that went in to erect a foundation, just to carry a giant edifice.

“That is what we are going through. When we get through the gestation period, the results will manifest, and it will herald prosperity, “he said.

The minister had stated that no license would be granted to companies wishing to enter the mineral sector without presenting a plan for value addition, such as processing and refining which has multiplier effect on the economy. (NAN)

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Economy

Life Insurance Records 95% Net Claims in Q4 2023-NAICOM

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The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says Life insurance business recorded about 95 per cent net claims of the total claims in the fourth quarter of 2023.

A report by NAICOM in Abuja on Tuesday hinted that the record was due to the direct reflection of the ongoing regulatory measures by the Commission regarding claims settlements.

NAICOM said the insurance market average stood at about 71.

4 per cent of the N536.
5 billion gross claims reported at the close of the fourth quarter.

The Commission said the market also recorded retention of about 87.7 per cent for the life business, 54 per cent for non-life while the aggregate market average retention stood at 66.

7 per cent for the period.

It showed that the insurance industry sustained its progressive trend of positive market performance at the close of 2023 fourth quarter.

According to NAICOM, the insurance market recorded a milestone growth to close at N1.003 trillion, representing about 27 per cent growth compared to the N790 billion recorded in 2022.

”Major growth drivers in the non-life segment of the market were oil and gas and fire Insurances contributing 27.3 per cent and 24.1 per cent respectively.

”In a direct reflection to the “no-premium no-cover” policy of the Commission, the outstanding premium continues to decline.

”The premium posted 1.6 per cent as outstanding of all the premiums generated in the market during the period.

”Statistics also shows that the market recorded total assets of about N2.67trillion and capitalisation of N851billion in 2023,” NAICOM said. (NAN)

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Economy

No Mining License without Mineral Value Addition Plans-Alake Warns

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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake has warned that no mining license would be issued to prospective investors without requisite plans for value addition on minerals.

Alake gave the warning in a statement  by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori on Tuesday.

He said the Federal Government had resolved to ensure compliance before permitting investors to operate.

He said that his Seven -Point Agenda for the ministry had placed the mining sector on global front burner since assuming office, which had generated renewed interest from the international community in Nigeria’s mineral resources.

He said the support of the executive and the legislature had enabled the ministry to showcase the solid minerals sector globally, resulting in his election as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to him, with the pact that led to the formation of the AMSG, there is now unity of purpose on the African continent regarding the issue of local value addition.

“We are no longer going to allow anybody or license any company that wants to go into the mineral sector without giving us a plan for local value addition,  like processing, refining and this has a multiplier effect on the economy.

“It instantly generates employment rather than a few people carting away lithium, gold, and the likes to other countries to sell.

“These minerals must now be processed in Nigeria, creating more value and beneficiation for local communities where they are sourced, ” he said.

Reports says that the minister had earlier received members of the House Committee on Solid Minerals who were on oversight visit to his office.

The minister commended the lawmakers for their support in repositioning the mining sector, stressing that boosting the economic profile of Nigeria required joint task by both the executive and legislature.

He acknowledged the significant contribution of sub-nationals to mining development, emphasising that state chairmen of  Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) and five committee members were nominated by state governments. (NAN)

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