Business

FG revokes N32bn metering contract, vows to sell five DisCos

Published

3 weeks ago

April 23, 2024

FG revokes N32bn metering contract, vows to sell five DisCos

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the revocation of a N32 billion ($200m) metering contract awarded by the Federal Government since 2021 for non-performance.

Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this and hinted of plans to sell off five electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) over persistent blackout.

Adelabu spoke on Monday while hosting members of the Senate Committee on Power in his Abuja office.

The minister said the Federal Government had mobilised a company named Messr Zigglass with $200 million (N32 billion) to supply three million meters, but that the firm had failed to deliver.

“If you held N32 billion for these years, where is the interest?” he asked.

According to him, President Tinubu has directed that the contract be revoked.

The government, he said, would bridge the current eight million metering gap in the next four to five years.

The minister also said the funding would be coming from a seed capital of N100 billion and N75 billion.

He added that the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) would come to the aid of the ministry with the funds.

The sale of the five DisCos to reputable technical power operators, he said, would be completed within three months.

He told the committee that tough decisions on the DisCos had become necessary because the entire Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) failed due to the poor performance of the distribution companies.

The minister said the ministry would prevail on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to revoke underperforming licences and change the management boards of the DisCos if necessary.

Adelabu said, “On distribution, very soon you will see that tough decisions will be taken on the DisCos. They are the last lap of the sector. If they don’t perform, the entire sector is not performing.

“The entire ministry is not performing. We have put pressure on NERC, which is their regulator to make sure they raise the bar on regulation activities.

“If they have to withdraw licences for non-performance, why not? If they have to change the board of management, why not?

“And all the DisCos that are still under AMCON and banks; within the next three months, they must be sold to technical power operators with good reputations in utility management.

“We can no longer afford AMCON to run our DisCos. We can no longer afford the banks to run our DisCos. This is a technical industry and it must be run by technical experts.”

He listed those affected as Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) under the management of the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company and Kano Electricity Distribution Company managed by Fidelity Bank; Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC) is under the AMCON management.

Investors hold 60 per cent of shares in the DisCos. The Federal Government holds the remaining 40 per cent.

Blackout has persisted in most states with DisCos blaming low allocation from the national grid as well as gas shortage to generating companies (GenCos) as the causes.

The minister said that the energy distribution assets are technical and should be managed by experts.

According to him, the Ibadan DisCo is too large for one company to manage.

Responding to the decision to resell the DisCos, a member of the committee, Senator Isah Jibrin, alleged that some of the operators have stripped the assets of the DisCos they took over in 2013.

He insisted that the operators of any revoked DisCo must be compelled to fix the assets as they were prior to handover.

Adelabu blamed issues in the industry on uncompleted projects and appealed to the committee to approve funds for the completion of over 120 projects across the country.

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Business

Your pension funds safe, won’t be accessed illegally, FG tells workers

Published

27 mins ago

May 17, 2024

Trends Admin

Your pension funds safe, won’t be accessed illegally, FG tells workers

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, says the Federal Government has no plans of illegally accessing the N20 trillion pension funds for infrastructure development.
He said noone should entertain any fear over the safety of the contributions of workers that make up the pension funds.
Edun had earlier said the spoken on a move to use the pension funds as part of the government’s efforts to bridge Nigeria’s estimated 20 million housing deficit, and provide massive housing and mortgage loans at 12 per cent interest rates, with 25-year repayment plans.
The minister’s comments had elicited serious reactions from notable groups and Nigerians, including the organised labour and a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who advised the government to suspend the move.
Atiku said the move was potentially disastrous for retired Nigerians dependent on their pensions.
But in a statement personally issued on Thursday, Edun said the stories making the rounds that the government planned to illegally access the savings and pension contributions of workers were false.
He stated that the pension industry was guided by rules, adding that the government would be strictly guided by extant rules in accessing the pension funds of workers.
The minister stressed that government would not go outside the stipulated limitations on what the funds could be invested in.
The statement read in partu, “It has come to my notice that there are stories making the rounds that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.
“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds, which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.
“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws, these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas, including infrastructure, housing, and, of course, to find a way to provide Nigerians with affordable mortgages.
“Within this context, there is no attempt, nor is it being considered, to offer unsafe investments for pension funds or even insurance funds or any investment funds.
“No attempt whatsoever to increase the risk. No attempt whatsoever to lower the returns that would otherwise be earned.”

Aviation

Updated: We’ll resume Lagos-Dubai flights on October 1, says Emirates

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Trends Admin

Updated: We’ll resume Lagos-Dubai flights on October 1, says Emirates

Emirates Airlines on Thursday announced that its flight operations to Nigeria would resume on October 1, 2024.

It said this in a statement, “The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs. The return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.

“Tickets can be booked now on Emirates.com or via travel agents.”

It quoted Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, as saying the Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular in Nigeria.

“We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard,” Kazim said.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday said the Emirates Airlines had given a definite date to resume flight operations to Nigeria and would make the announcement in a matter of days.

Emirates Airlines suspended flight operations to Nigeria in October 2022 over its inability to repatriate its $85 million revenue trapped in Nigeria.

Business

Dollar crashes against Naira at official market

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2024

Trends Admin

Dollar crashes against Naira at official market

The Naira on Wednesday appreciated at the official market, trading at N1,459.02 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, revealed that the Naira gained N61.38.

This represents a 4.04 per cent gain when compared to the previous trading date on Tuesday, when the local currency exchanged at N1,520.40 to a dollar.