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HURIWA Demands Minister’s Removal Amid Electricity Grid Failures
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has voiced strong dissatisfaction and outrage over the persistent collapse of Nigeria’s national electricity grid under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Following the recent grid failures on October 14 and 15, 2024, HURIWA has called for the immediate removal of Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, citing “gross incompetence” and unfitness for the role.
The latest collapses mark the seventh and eighth grid failures in 2024, plunging millions of Nigerians into darkness and further straining an already fragile economy. The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the outages, which disrupted power supply across numerous states.
Despite repeated assurances from the Ministry of Power and various government agencies, HURIWA argues that these collapses have become a norm, worsening the nation’s economic and social challenges. Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, criticized the Ministry of Power as a revolving door for politicians who consistently fail to deliver results, asserting that Adelabu’s tenure has been no different.
“Nigeria has had the misfortune of some of the worst species of politicians posted to the Ministry of Power in the last two decades,” Onwubiko stated. “Most leave office with anti-graft cases, failing to provide the electricity needed for industrial and economic growth.”
Since assuming office in May 2023, President Tinubu’s administration has been marred by recurring power grid failures, with each collapse significantly impacting the nation. HURIWA criticized the President for appointing someone without expertise in power management to this crucial role, emphasizing that electricity is vital for Nigeria’s economic advancement, small and medium-scale enterprises, and infrastructure development.
“We do not understand why President Tinubu considers it useful to have someone who brings nothing to the table as the Minister of Power,” Onwubiko expressed. “Electricity powers economic advancement. It drives small and medium-scale enterprises and is the engine of the nation in terms of infrastructure and capacity building.”
HURIWA highlighted that the government’s justifications for the grid collapses consistently fail to match reality. Explanations of “system disturbance” or infrastructure challenges have been offered without a clear action plan to prevent further failures. The advocacy group pointed out that historically, Nigeria has suffered from frequent power grid failures, but the trend has intensified under President Tinubu’s administration, with seven collapses occurring in 2024 alone.
HURIWA concluded that under the current government, Nigerians have experienced increased power outages, higher electricity tariffs, and minimal improvement in supply, exacerbating an already dire economic situation.
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Reps Seek Timely Submiission of MTEF, 2025 Appropriation Bill
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Davido’s father, Adedeji narrates how govt officials want to frustrate his power plant project
Adedeji Adeleke, the father of the award-winning superstar, David, popularly called Davido, has revealed what he went through securing the environmental permit for his power plant worth over $2 billion.
The billionaire industrialist disclosed this while speaking as a Layperson from the West-Central Africa Division during the Seventh Day Adventist General Conference Annual Council on Tuesday, which was held in Maryland, United States of America.
While sharing his experience as a Baptist member, Adeleke recounted how he ran into bottlenecks with ‘difficult government officials’, with a particular official saying to him that the project would never ‘see the light of day’.
He said he went on his knees and prayed to God because he did not want to accept the government official’s statement as the final say for his company, Pacific Energy which was closely working with Chinese engineering companies for the construction and design of the power projects.
“I am a businessman in Nigeria. I’m into the electricity business. I own a power plant, I generate about 15 per cent of the electricity needs for Nigeria. I have Chinese engineering companies that work for me. I’m building the biggest power plant in Nigeria that will be completed in January 2025. It is a 1,250-megawatt power plant.
“During the course of the design and getting the permit, we ran into difficult government officials. For environmental reasons, our permit was denied, and the particular government officials that I held a meeting with told me to my face that my project would never see the light of the day. But while he was saying that, I was saying in my mind that this guy is talking as if he is God. I was saying in my mind that God should listen to him; Because he is not God, whatever he is saying is null and void.”
“So I left, disappointed and I told my Chinese friends that unfortunately we have difficulty and this project is going to stall. Meanwhile, the project is worth about $2 billion. In the process, a lot of money had already gone into the design and preliminaries. Before we get to the stage where we would need a permit and then break ground. So my Chinese friend was worried because the Afrexim Bank of China was involved so that meant bankruptcy for him. I told him not to worry,” he said.
Adeleke further stressed that his Chinese friend had to travel down to Nigeria to discuss a way out because he never believed that prayer was enough to get the project done, noting that it did as the then Minister of Power granted the approval because he saw that the project was a brilliant one.
Recall that Adeleke had earlier spoken about this power project while delivering a lecture note at the 9th graduation ceremony of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State in July 2023
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Yoruba Nation: Stop intimidating British High Commissioner, Igboho cautions FG
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, otherwise known as Sunday Igboho, has warned the Federal Government against intimidating the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, over his recent petition on the Yoruba nation.
Recall Igboho had, on Saturday, submitted a 25-page petition to the office of UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, at 10 Downing Street, London, pushing for the recognition of a sovereign Yoruba nation.
In a statement personally signed by Igboho and made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the activist described the reported summoning of Montgomery by the Nigerian government as unnecessary, labelling it an attempt to pressure the diplomat.
He insisted that such moves would not derail the ongoing push for a Yoruba nation.
The statement read, “The British government colonised Nigeria, and we are well within our rights to submit a petition to them regarding our demand for a sovereign Yoruba nation. Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, from the British government, but the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 was a decision made by the British.”
Igboho argued that Yoruba people have a constitutional right to demand secession 100 years after the amalgamation, calling the union a “marriage of inconvenience.”
“The main reason we submitted our letter to the UK government is to have them serve as a witness before the United Nations whenever the issue of the Yoruba nation is brought up at an international level,” the statement continued.
He added that the standard response time for such official letters is around two weeks, suggesting that Prime Minister Starmer might not have even read the petition yet.
However, Igboho reassured the Yoruba people that the intimidation tactics of the Nigerian government would not deter the movement.
The statement added, “We remain committed to peaceful, non-violent, and legitimate methods of ensuring the birth of a Yoruba nation. Our people should stay calm and resolute, confident in our collective struggle for emancipation so that we can harness our great potential in a vibrant Yoruba nation once it is created out of the current Nigerian contraption.”
Igboho further stated that the summoning of Montgomery in Abuja would not halt the campaign, adding that he would not hesitate to rally global support for the cause.
“We will continue to seek international backing and bring our agenda before the global community,” the statement concluded.
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