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Hope for Nigeria as FG eyes 1,268MW from new eight power plants

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By Francesca Hangeior

There seems to be a ray of hope for Nigerians as the Federal Government reviees that it is expecting 1,268 megawatts of power from the concession and development of eight brown and green field hydropower projects constructed through public private partnerships.

It was gathered that three of the power projects were already given to concessionaires, while the Federal Executive Council had approved the concession of another of the power projects.

In a February 2024 document obtained from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in Abuja on Friday by our correspondent, it was observed that while three of the hydropower projects had been completed, the remaining five were in various stages of completion.

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The document was presented to the National Council on Water Resources and Sanitation at its 30th regular meeting by the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev.

The country has been struggling with poor power generation and supply, as electricity firms generate and distribute between 3,000MW and 4,000MW for a population of over 200 million people.

The abysmal electricity supply situation grew worse since January this year after suppliers of gas to gas-fired thermal power plants stopped supplying the product to the plants due to the $1.3bn debt of the electricity generating plants.

To ameliorate the crisis, the Federal Government has been investing in hydropower plants that do not use gas, but are run by water-powered turbines.

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The water resources minister, in the latest presentation from his ministry, stated that there had been tremendous progress in the brown and green field hydropower development through public private partnerships.

“We have conclusively concessioned some projects while still developing others through various PPP models itemised as follows: concession of the 40MW Dadinkowa Hydropower Project in Gombe State. We have attained financial closure and the plant is operational, thereby, stabilising the transmission voltage of the North-East of Nigeria.

“Concession of the 30MW Gurara Hydropower Plant in Kaduna State up to financial closure and the plant, which is under rehabilitation will commence commercial operation in the third quarter of the year 2024.

“Concession of the 40MW Kashimbila Hydropower Plant in Taraba State. The Federal Executive Council approval has been secured, the concession agreement executed and the commencement fee paid by the concessionaire to the special concession account as approved by the Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning,” Utsev said.

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Justice Gonçalves Elected New President Of ECOWAS Court Of Justice

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By Gloria Ikibah
Honourable Justice Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves has been elected as the new President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice for a two-year term of office, following an election by the college of five judges of the Court.
In a statement issued by the Communication division of the Community Court, on Monday, October 14, 2024, Hon. Justice Gonçalves succeeds Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante who led the Court for six years since assuming office on July 31, 2018.
In the same election, Hon. Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma was elected as Vice-President, succeeding Hon. Justice Gberi-bè Ouattara.
Justice  Gonçalves from Cabo Verde and Justice Sengu M. Koroma from Sierra Leone were sworn-in on Thursday, October 6, 2022 in Guinea Bissau by former President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo for a non-renewable term of four (4) years.
In his inaugural speech, the President-elect, Justice Gonçalves outlined his vision for the Court, which focused on two fundamental pillars: responsibility and dialogue. He emphasised the responsibility entrusted to the Court by the ECOWAS laws establishing the Court.
He also stressed the need to uphold the institution’s mission as an independent, reliable, efficient, and accessible court.
Justice Gonçalves expressed his commitment to foster continuous dialogue with other institutions and agencies of
ECOWAS, Member States, civil societies among others, while also ensuring financial prudence in the administration of the institution’s fund.
The other three judges of the Court are the out-going president, Justice Edward Amoako Asante (Ghana), the out-going vice-president, Justice Gberi-bè Ouattara (Côte d’Ivoire) and Justice Dupe Atoki Nigeria.
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CBN Says Recapitalization Policy Strengthened Financial Position Of Banks

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…as macroeconomic performance projection indicate 3.2%, 3.3% growth rate for 2024, 2025 respectively
By Gloria Ikibah
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, has highlighted plans of the Apex bank to address the spiralling inflation in the country.
Cardoso also said the Bank’s recapitalization policy has prompted banks to strengthen their financial positions, a process which he said was expected to result in a more robust and resilient banking sector by March 2026.
The CBN Governor who stated this while addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Banking, on the on policy measures and strategies to address domestic macroeconomic challenges.
The exercise, according to him, is expected to support the realisation of $1 trillion economy by the year 2030.
On the macroeconomic performance in 2024, he said projections indicates a growth rate of 3.2% and 3.3% for 2024 and 2025 respectively, and that Nigeria is projected to maintain a more robust 4.3% growth rate.
Cardoso said the non-oil sector maintained strong performance, contributing 94.30% to GDP with a steady 2.80% growth rate.
He added that the oil sector’s growth rate has almost doubled to 10.15% in Q2, 2024 from 5.70% in Q1, 2024, due mainly to improved security surveillance which resulted in increased production of crude oil and natural gas.
He said the Services sector continues to be the primary economic driver, contributing 58.76% to GDP with a robust growth rate of 3.79%.
Similarly, he said the Industrial sector has shown remarkable improvement, with its growth rate surging to 3.53% from 0.31%.
He pointed out that the contribution of agriculture to total GDP also increased, in addition, the growth rate of the sector rose to 1.41%, from a negative territory of -0.90%, indicating a substantial turnaround in productivity.
He also said the foreign exchange reserves have grown significantly, with remittance flows currently representing 9.4 per cent of total external reserves.
The CBN Governor further stated that the reserves grew by 12.74% to US$39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024, from US$34.70 billion at end-June 2024, driven largely by foreign capital inflows, receipts from crude oil related taxes and third-party.
“In Q2 2024, we maintained a current account surplus and saw remarkable improvements in our trade balance”, he said.
Cardoso further explained that the current external reserve position is able to finance over 12 months of import of goods and services, or 15 months of goods only.
“This is substantially higher than the prescribed international benchmark of 3.0 months, reflecting a robust buffer against external shocks.
“Inflation trended upward, driven largely by high food prices, cost of energy and legacy infrastructural challenges, but it commenced deceleration from 34.19% in June 2024 and to 33.40% in July 2024.
“The moderation in inflation became more pronounced in August 2024, as headline inflation further eased to 32.15%, largely attributed to monetary policy measures taken by the Bank”, he added.
” With aggressive monetary policy tightening coupled with robust monetary- fiscal policy coordination, inflation is expected to further trend downward in the near-to-medium term, Cardoso said.
“To combat inflation, he said they had fully reverted to orthodox monetary policy approach and implemented a comprehensive set of monetary policy measures.
“These include raising the policy rate by 850 basis points to 27.25%, increasing Cash Reserve Ratios and normalising Open Market Operations as our primary liquidity management tool.
“In addition, we have adopted an Inflation-Targeting (IT) monetary policy framework as part of the Bank’s Enterprise Strategy (2024 2028).
“The IT framework, widely adopted across various global economies, is renowned for its effectiveness in combating persistent inflation.
“These integrated measures are aimed at stabilizing prices, optimizing liquidity management, and engendering an effective monetary policy framework.
“Regarding the foreign exchange market, the the Bank implemented various reforms including a unification strategy, which streamlined various exchange rate windows into a single model, adopting the ‘Willing Buyer, Willing Seller’ approach to enhance FX liquidity and financial market stability.
“This move was aimed at fostering transparency, reducing market distortions, and enhancing the efficiency of foreign exchange allocations.
“This consolidation involved the implementation of new operational guidelines, which included removing the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOS) quote cap.
“Additionally, the Bank resumed the sales of FX at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and Bureau De Change (BDC) segments, bolstered by an improved supply from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs)”, he added.
On banking supervision, Cardoso emphasised that the CBN has taken decisive actions to ensure the safety, soundness, and resilience of the banking industry.
“One of the key measures include the recapitalization of the banking sector by raising the minimum capital base to support the $1 trillion economy envisioned by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) by 2030.
“Banks are required to meet these new thresholds by March 31, 2026, with several options available for reaching these targets.
“These options include issuing of new equities, engaging in mergers and acquisitions, or adjusting their operational licenses. The Bank also revoked the licence of Heritage Bank, facilitated the successful merger of Unity Bank and Providus Bank, revised Cybersecurity Rules for Banks and PSPs, suspension of processing fees on cash deposits, and enhanced Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision, amongst others”, he stated.
On Monetary and fiscal policy coordination, he said they had strengthened collaboration during the period under review.
“In this regard, several joint committees have been instituted to build synergy and to provide platforms for key stakeholders’ engagements to explore ways through which monetary policy implementation and fiscal operations can be conducted in a mutually reinforcing manner.
“Overall, our policy measures reflect a holistic approach to addressing various challenges in the economy. While some measures have immediate effects, others are designed to bring about long-term structural changes. Our ultimate goal is to create a more stable, resilient, and efficient monetary and financial system that can better serve the Nigerian economy, while adhering to global best practices”, he noted.
Cardoso said the Bank’s numerous policy initiatives have begun to yield significant results across various sectors of the economy.
He said: “In the foreign exchange market, we have achieved increased transparency and improved overall supply. By allowing the foreign exchange rate to be determined by market demand and supply, the CBN has reduced arbitrage and speculative activities, and eliminated the front-loading of FX demand.
“These policy measures have effectively narrowed the exchange rate disparities between the NAFEM and BDC segments, which have largely led to the convergence of FX rates. Improved transparency in the market has restored market confidence leading to increased capital inflows which enabled the CBN to clear existing FX backlogs.
“The settlement of all legitimate backlogs of outstanding FX obligations by the Bank has significantly improved Nigeria’s credibility and ratings across the global financial market, helping to boost investor confidence, and enhanced liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
“With improved investor confidence, foreign investments have increased as evidenced by a significant rise in capital importation by 65.56% to $6.49 billion between January and July 2024, compared to US$3.92 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.
“Collectively, these actions have contributed significantly to the stability of the financial system. While inflation remains a major concern, we are not relenting in ensuring that requisite measures are taken.
“Headline inflation slightly increased from 32.15% in August to 32.70% in September 2024. The MPC further tightened the policy rate in its September meeting in anticipation of an uptick in inflation due to the upward adjustment of the petroleum pump price.
“On a positive note, there was a moderation in core inflation from 27.58% to 27.43% over the same period. We therefore expect the year to end with significant moderation in inflation, as our policy measures permeate the real economy,” he said.
On the outlook for the economy, Cardoso said he was confident as the country expects continued positive growth, especially in the non-oil, oil and industrial sectors.
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Nigeria’s inflation rate hits 32.7%

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose to 32.7 percent in September.

This is the first increase in three months after the country’s inflation rate declined twice in 2024.

The latest inflation data is contained in the NBS CPI report for September, released on Tuesday.

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