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We Can’t Continue To Subsidise Electricity For Nigerians Because We Already Have N1.3trillion Debts — Minister Of Power
This was made known by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Adelabu said the country must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model, as the country is currently owing the tune of N1.3trillion to generating businesses (GenCos) and $1.3billion due by gas firms.
He further stated that just N450billion was funded for subsidies this year, despite the fact that the ministry requires more than N2trillion in subsidies, adding that state governments would now be able to generate power independently to supply power to their respective states.
He stated that the grid had collapsed six times between December 2023 and now due to a lack of gas, ageing machines in the grid value chain, insufficient capacity to evacuate generated power, and the destruction of power stations in some parts of the country’s North-East geopolitical zone.
It was learnt that the Transmission Commission of Nigeria has over 100 abandoned projects due to discrepancies in contract figures caused by FX volatility, and that the business will not grant new contracts until all such projects are completed, according to the power minister.
The minister equally mentioned that over 50 billion Naira has been set aside in the 2024 budget to establish small grids to provide power to remote locations.
He warned power distribution businesses (DisCos) should sit up, or those found wanting will have their licence revoked.
The minister also stated that he had contacted Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to assist with the protection of power infrastructure.
The power minister’s remark came amid speculation that the President Bola Tinubu-led government had returned the fuel subsidy he removed during his inauguration on the 29th of May, 2023.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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